Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Shadows in Focus: City by Shadow Cheyenne

July 7, 2015 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Shadows in Focus: City by Shadow Cheyenne

System– Shadowrun 5e

Producer– Catalyst Game Labs

Price– $8 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/144658/Shadowrun-Shadows-in-Focus-Cheyenne

TL; DR– Good summary, but needs a map! 88%

Basics– The previous Shadows in Focus focused on the whole Sioux nation. Now it’s time to look at one city, the capital city Cheyenne. This book discusses the people, places, locations, and groups in Cheyenne and how to run a game in the city of the Sioux.

Mechanics or Crunch– There just isn’t any here! It’s basically edition-less which is nice, but at the same time, I would have liked something! However, I’m not going to dock points because a book didn’t do something it isn’t designed to do. -/5

Theme or Fluff- This book is full of fluff from stories of corruption to the different characters who run the dive bar down the street. It’s got an absolute ton of information that is well written. 5/5

Execution– Want to know how to instantly make me mad at your geography text book about a place the doesn’t exist or exists in such a state modern information is out of date? DON’T INCLUDE A MAP! That right there makes me kind of mad. Sure, I can look up the map of modern day Cheyenne, but why should I? Modern maps also won’t include any of the new locations you discuss, so I have the painstakingly find the locations you talk about if I want to use your book. Also, while the information in the book is well written, some of it feels out of place. This book has all the members on the council of chiefs. That’s great information to have, but honestly I think that should go in the Sioux Nation book itself. Sure, they live in Cheyenne but they are much more of a national figure. And that kind of sets the tone for the book-it feels like this and the Sioux Nation book were written as one book, divided along some lines to keep them equal length and send out to layout. That’s not bad, but it is a bit distracting. 3.75/5

Summary– This is a pretty short review of a decent sized book. This source book covers the city of Cheyenne well introducing lots of locations, people, and the town of Cheyenne itself well. I still really want a map, and I also feel that some of this book belongs in the basic Sioux Nation book. None of those sins make this a bad book, but it does take away from the awesome parts of the book. Also, I’d like something mechanical for this book. There isn’t any real mechanics to speak of, but the book’s job is to inform about the world, not the games underlying mechanics or add player options. But honestly, here’s what will determine if you buy this book-do you ever plan to do a run in the Sioux Nation and Cheyenne? If yes, buy this book. It’s a good summary of the town and its people-even without the map. 88%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Valiant Universe: The Roleplaying Game

June 22, 2015June 22, 2015 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Valiant Universe: The Roleplaying Game

System– Valiant Universe: The Roleplaying Game

Producer– Catalyst Game Labs

Price– $40 for the physical book here http://www.amazon.com/Valiant-Universe-RPG-Core-Rulebook/dp/1936876965/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434994698&sr=8-1&keywords=valiant+rpg, $10 for a PDF here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/132548/Valiant-Universe-The-Roleplaying-Game, OR PLAY NOW FOR FREE with this PDF http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/128948/Valiant-Universe-RPG-Quick-Start-Rules-Featuring-Unity

TL; DR– The heroic evolution of Cosmic Patrol 92%

Basics– Step into the pages of the Valiant comic books. Valiant RPG is designed to use the Cosmic Patrol light mechanics system in the world of the Valiant Comics. You can fight alongside X-O Manowar or even start fights in the Harbinger Wars! The book spends half its time setting up Valiant universe and half its time describing the system with adventures provided to jump start you into the system.

Mechanics or Crunch– There is a lot here, but it’s also quite similar to Cosmic Patrol

Non-Combat, Combat, and 90% of the system-Valiant RPG feels like the next stage of evolution for the Cosmic Patrol RPG. Players use a d12 + a d4 to d12 for all the characters actions vs. the Lead Narrators roll of d20. Just like Cosmic Patrol, the game is quick and easy to pick up. For a much fuller explanation of the base rules read my cosmic patrol write up here: https://throatpunchgames.com/2015/06/05/ring-side-report-rpg-review-of-cosmic-patrol/ . Overall, it fits well with the comic book style of the system. Players feel heroic being able to take blasts from large robots while facing odds that would decimate most small nations.

Powers-The major addition to the Cosmic Patrol system by the Valiant RPG are powers. Powers are extremely varied with few if any rules guiding their creation. Players spend points to choose a die type, a bonus to the die, and if the die replaces, if two dice are rolled and the better result taken, or if the two are added together. How these dice are used is completely up in the air. Since this is a superheroes game, the powers are all kept loose to allow for a variety of powers to come out. Everything from flight to energy swords are powers the players can design and use in this game.

Summary-This is a very loose, fun game. It does play well with all the characters feeling like superheroes. It all works well as the Cosmic Patrol system is an amazing system. The powers are a great addition to the system adding a wide variety of options at player creation. It’s very flexible, allowing for the creation of any superhero a person could think up. The only problem I have with the system is combat tends to drag a bit. I’d like player characters to do a bit more damage to make them feel a bit more heroic. Most people should go down in under one hit from the Eternal Warrior, but based on how damage is dealt, a Visigoth can go toe to toe with him for at least five rounds. However, this is an area where the powers can be used to fix the system based on player creativity. Otherwise, this system allows for players to battle through any adventure from the comics well. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff- The first half of the book is the quick notes of the Valiant universe. I’ve read a bit of the comics, but this is a much better introduction to the world than I expected. Each comic gets four to six pages of explanation as well as the general explanation of some of the major events of the universe. It’s well done, and if you’re at all interested in Valiant Comics, it will draw you in and make you want to read some of the graphic novels. 5/5

Execution– I like what’s here. Starting with the comic universe helps those who’ve never read the comics get on board in a hurry. Also, it has enough depth that you don’t feel completely outgunned when the diehard comic guy/gal in the RPG groups starts talking. It won’t give you a master class in the subject, but it will help you hum most of the harmonies to the Valiant Universe song. Character creation is simple, and has a few examples to help you make the heroes you want. I’d like a bit more for game mastering as, like Cosmic Patrol, players can do a round robin GM style with the lead narrator position rotating, allowing everybody to a chance to play. But, just like Cosmic Patrol, the adventures are barebones. It allows for quick, on the fly game play and mastering, but it also means that the current lead narrator has to have some serious improve chops. I do like how much the writers provide by both giving you lots of enemies to fight as well as several adventures to start with, but I think this book needs a bit more to be completely new game master friendly. 4.25/5

Summary– Valiant and Cosmic Patrol occupy an interesting niche in the RPG market. It’s got more rules then Fiasco, but much less rules then DnD or Shadowrun. If you need every minuscule rule spelled out for you, then these are not games you will enjoy. If you want a ton of improve opportunity, then you will enjoy this. If you want ONLY improve, then you won’t enjoy this RPG. If you want a bit of dice rolls and crunch, then this is your sweet spot. It’s a great RPG that’s set in a fun universe with great comics. It builds upon the solidly squishy base of Cosmic Patrol and adds a fun universe to play in with new powers to destroy it with. However, it’s not without its faults. Some combat can drag a bit, and I’d like a few minor additions to the GM section of the book to better teach how to run the game. But, it’s still a great RPG with lots of options that are only limited by your imagination. 92%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Cosmic Patrol

June 5, 2015 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ 1 Comment

Product– Cosmic Patrol

System– Cosmic Patrol

Producer– Catalyst Game Labs

Price– $ 25 for the physical book, or FIVE BUCKS(!) for the PDF here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/94125/Cosmic-Patrol-Core-Rulebook

TL; DR– Fun and light, but needs a bit more explanation. 87%

Basics-Time to rocket off to space with the Cosmic Patrol! In Cosmic Patrol, players (and even the GM!) take the rolls of different patrol agents as the fight for truth, justice, and Space America! This is a story telling RPG that takes place in the universe of 1950’s Sci-Fi.

Mechanics or Crunch– Let’s break this down. There isn’t much, but it is slick!

Non-Combat-For any action that the players want to do where dice are needed like decrypting an ancient alien script, piloting the ship, or seducing the green women and men beyond the stars, players roll a d12 (a twelve sided die) and either their brawn, brains, or charisma die and add those two together. Brains, brawn, or charisma dice range between d4 to d12. The Lead Narrator (LN), this systems version of a DM/GM, rolls a d20. If the player meets or exceeds the LN dice roll, then they succeed. Players also have a luck value. If any of their dice roll that value, they succeed. That’s it. This game is built for flat out speed and storytelling.

Combat-Want to shoot somebody with you atamo-blaster? You roll your combat die, and they roll their combat die. You beat them? You shoot them. Done. Weapons do have ranges like close (fist fight), near (across a room), and far (sniper duel), and those will indicate if you can use the weapon across the space or if you take a penalty to the die result. If you do hit, you deal damage indicated by the weapon. Done. Like non-combat, die rolls are kept quick.

Damage-Weapon do damage equal to their damage value. Every character has armor with a number of damage circles. When those fill up, characters start to take health damage. As the health damage track fills up, you begin to take penalties to your brawn roll, then brawn and combat dice rolls, and finally you pass out. While quick, it also has the hint of realism that I love in combat.

Turn order- Outside of combat, players act pretty much any order they choose. In combat, turns are quick starting to the left of the Lead Narrator and going around the table. Players get basically a move and an action to borrow terms from other RPGs, but this is pretty much just left up to the LN to adjudicate (Remember this is a super-light weight game! No need for battle mats here.). After all the players take their turns, then the Lead Narrator has all the enemies take their turns. It’s quick and easy to keep running.

Plot Point-I love cheating points from other RPGs, and I love them here too. Plot points give you narrative control over what happens. You can increase or decrease a die roll, have the enemy’s rocket’s thrusters cut out, rip the man out of the evil kill bot suit, or any other action that will enhance the story. But, every plot point a character spends is given to the Lead Narrator! The Lead Narrator can spend those to add enemies to a fight, create plot twists, or anything else that might provide some narrative fun, but they can’t use it to directly hinder a player’s roll or action. Players get more plot points by acting using their characters cues/characteristics or simply starting their turn with no plot points. The fact that these points are currency for both sides of the game makes them fun, and the nature of how quickly you get them back really makes the plot full of cheesy 1960’s sci-fi events.

Summary- Cosmic Patrol is in a sweet spot for me. You get the danger of DnD 5e, but you also get the off the wall narratives of Fiasco as everyone really gets to tell the story. It’s a granola and yogurt parfait; it has just enough mechanics to keep it crunchy, but enough fluff-based fun to keep it smooth. Also, whenever I spend a plot point as the Lead Narrator, I can’t help but make the organ du, Du, DUN noise from any soap opera at my players. It’s just that much fun. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff- There is a ton in this little red book. The book starts with world building instead of numbers, and paints a world where 1950’s Buck Rogers would happily live. It full of all the tropes you love and room to add some more. Yes, everything you do in this game will somehow be a cliché, BUT that’s why you play this game. It’s full of a tons of crazy alien threats to mankind, and all the classic rocket shaped antics you can find. 5/5

Execution– I’ve had nothing bad to say about the previous two topics, but here things will change. This game expects a lot from its LN, especially from its first game. Sure I love the small, red book, I like the art, and I like the quick character generation rules and examples. But, what I hate is the fact almost NO game mastering advice is given aside from some of the standard that should be there. As a first-time game master for this system, I didn’t know how many bad guys to throw at my players. And to answer the obvious question-yes this is a story system, but it does have crunch. So, it does need some balance to keep it fun. Throwing a full ship at everyone might be story wise ok, but crunch wise out of the realm of logic. Adding just a few more pages describing how encounters should go would really help. Also, the game provides some example missions, but again, those missions are extremely barebones about their presentation. You get a few bullet points describing things like 1) Find ship 2) Deal with inhabitance 3) Neutralize death bomb! And as a GM from other systems, that just isn’t enough to keep my creative juices going. Sure, I can make a game happen, but honestly that’s a tough pill to swallow. I just need a bit more to really make this a fully out of the box playable experience. 3.5/5

Summary– If you want a game you can just pick up and play with your group on an off night, Cosmic Patrol is your game. You get the rules in less than five minutes, and that is amazing. The theme is something we’ve all seen and, for the most part, love. As I was running this game once, my ring tone for my parents started, and as it’s the Flash Gordon Theme Song, it was most appropriate. What isn’t as good as you might expect is the execution, and even that is really only not on point when it comes to the game mastering side of things. As a book with art, monsters, and world building, it amazing. I just needed a bit more to help me start running. If you want a Space Opera game with a bit more meat on its bones than Lasers and Feelings, but you don’t want Traveler, then this is the sweet spot for you. 87%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Shadows in Focus Sioux Nation

June 4, 2015June 4, 2015 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Shadowrun: Shadows in Focus: Sioux Nation

System– Shadowrun 5e

Producer– Catalyst Game Labs

Price– $ 8 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/142521/Shadowrun-Shadows-in-Focus-Sioux-Nation

TL; DR– A little pricey, but a great read 92%

Basics– Time to step out onto the range and head into the NAN! As you can tell by the title, this is a guide book to the Sioux Nation in 2075, a land constantly preparing for war against a much larger aggressor that doesn’t really care about them. The book is written in the same Shadowslands BBS style that is always a fan favorite covering the geography, magic, government, people, and underworld of the Sioux Nation. At the end of the book, there are a few small sections on how to great a Sioux Nation shadowrunner giving quick skill guides as well as roleplaying tips.

Mechanics or Crunch– For a splat book that usually doesn’t have anything at all for mechanics, this one is pretty decent. The last several pages are character creation. Now, there isn’t anything that specially makes you need to buy this book like say an amazing quality or spell, but the authors took time to write something and even provided skill break downs for quick character generation. Not bad, but much more than I honestly expected. 4/5

Theme or Fluff- Plan to run anywhere need the NAN? Then you need this book. Want to learn a ton of Shadowrun world history focusing on the Western US? Then you need this book. Want a great Shadowrun history book for cheap? Then you should get this book. It’s well done with lots of mission hooks and entire campaign hooks built in. Honestly, you could run a several months game based on the history in this book alone. 5/5

Execution– I’ve been pretty hard on Catalysts bigger books lately. But, like most of their smaller splat books, this is a well done piece of work. It flows well, reads quickly, and is fun to get through. And the price, while a little high, isn’t bad at all for some quality world building. 4.75/5

Summary– This is an amazing nation book. You get all the information you need with good layout, art, and text. While there is mechanics and crunch here, my only complaint is I’d like something more mechanically. Throw in a mentor spirit, some custom gun mod, and maybe a Sioux specific spell, and I’d be on cloud nine. But as it is, this is a good world book with loots of fluff to start a Shadowrun game or to have on hand when you players decide to knock over a Stuffer Shack in the NAN. 92%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Street Grimoire

May 28, 2015 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Street Grimoire

System– Shadowrun 5e

Producer– Catalyst

Price– $25 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/131832/Shadowrun-Street-Grimoire

TL; DR– Even with my favorite spell, a few problems hurt the book. 87%

Basics– There is a lot more magic than what you see on the trids, chummer. Street Grimoire is a large hardcover book covering magic in the Shadowrun 5e world. The book spends a long time discussing how magic works (or how it might work), the world and magic, different types of magic, and other canon pieces of Shadowrun before diving into adding hard, crunchy bits to the setting. It covers all types of magic from mages to adepts and everybody in between like spirits with each type of magic (spell casting, enchanting, summoning, et al) getting their own chapter.

Mechanics or Crunch– Overall, I like what’s in Street Grimoire. The book adds a ton of spells even adding my favorite spell euphoria (which used to be called Orgasm) as well as adding a large variety of new spirit options, adept powers, and magic traditions. What makes me less than amazed is the lack of qualities and the types of spells. There are a few, but most can’t be PC qualities. Also, as a magic Decker, I was kind of less amazed by the new adept powers. Some are awesome, but I felt the techno-mages kind of were left in the cold. The spells in the book are good, but nothing sticks out besides my special favorite to really make me take any at character generation. They are a little to specific and that kind of keeps me away when I only get 10 spells to start. What’s in the book is good, but I’d like a bit more. 4.25/5

Theme or Fluff- Here is where the Shadowrun books always shine. The book is written as a conversation on the Shadowrunner BBS as a character writes a long post, and all the other Shadowrunners tare into the poster with comments. It’s well done and entertaining. I just read a 200+ page anthropology book about a world that doesn’t exist, but I wasn’t bored and was pretty enthralled. Good job! 5/5

Execution-While the theme is really helped by the addition of the Shadowrunner BBS conversation, some of the important parts of the book get mixed into the conversation. Sometimes concessions for organization are made to keep the BBS format going. Those concessions can hurt the understanding of the reader. One example is the chapter on magic groups as several examples discussed, but after all the groups are mentioned the book adds a page about group organization. That would be excellent information, but the section wasn’t front loaded in a way I could follow, so I was reading about something else, then a small, in-text section describes how the groups are organized. So, I was a bit lost. That happed a few other places as well. You can find your way, but it does distract from the flow of the book. 3.75/5

Summary– Overall, this is a good book. I’m a relatively new convert to Shadowrun, so the world story side of the book is really helpful. However, this book isn’t the home run I would have hoped for. Mechanically, I want more. As a starting wizard, the book doesn’t have a ton of spells you’ll want to pick up and use. The spells here are great, but you’ll more than likely stick to the spells out of the base book. And that’s kind of a running theme for the mechanics throughout this book. Good stuff, but nothing that will make you build a starter character based on. UNLESS YOU COULD SHANTE THE WORLD SEXIEST TROLL! Just because the book brings back my favorite fourth edition spells as euphoria, it gets a higher grade simply for that. But, this book also suffers from a serious problem with organization. Sure the book “works” as I can read it fine, but as a reader, I felt lost a few times. That hurts the overall presentation. This is a good book, but it needs some work to really make this the slam dunk it could be. 87%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Shadowrun: London Falling

May 10, 2015 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Shadowrun: London Falling

System– Shadowrun 5e, Shadowrun 4e

Producer– Catalyst

Price– $12 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/140722/Shadowrun-London-Falling

TL; DR– Fun adventures, not by favorite execution. 83%

Basics– Let’s run in jolly future England! London Falling is a series of Shadowrun convention specials that have been updated and formatted for public play. Players get to take part in slightly harder than normal runs that decide the fate of 2070’s England in adventures that are part of the Shadowrun Missions living game. Can you handle the pressure of these runs and get home for tea time?

Mechanics or Crunch-Get ready for hard mode! The con Shadowrun Missions are all made with a “big risk, big rewards” mentality, and it shows. What’s here is hard core Shadowrun. It’s fun and done well, but you might have to keep this in mind when you run the adventure as newer players might not stand a chance. 5/5

Theme or Fluff- Overall, the adventures are well done. Seattle is fine, but it’s fun to run in a completely different location for once. However, I think since this is a different place, I’d like more background for my players and myself as a GM. Sure, I can hand wave some stuff, but I’d like a small section to help me better understand the world as I present it in game. One mission has this, but why not the others? Also, some of the descriptions of locations and layouts are not done as well as I’d like. It leaves a ton up to the GM to decide. I can work with that, but I’d like there to be a bit more to help me set the scene. 4/5

Execution– While I’m overall happy with the crunch and fluff of this product, the execution is semi-lacking. A major flaw is the lack of contact sheets and adventure summary sheets in the back of the book! These are already Shadowrun missions adventures, so those sheets exist, so why are they not here? That knocks of some of the score. What is interesting is some of the mix between 4e and 5e as the contacts get the full treatment of how each type of contact will give you some information. But, some of the contacts are all mixed up. Art, your default Mr. Johnson for several of the missions, isn’t given a full rundown until the second mission. That’s kind of strange as he’d be really helpful if presented in the first one. That kind of summarizes the execution as a whole. What is here isn’t bad, but I’d just need a bit more and a bit better organized. 3.5/5

Summary– If you want some Shadowrun Missions, then you’re going to get this. If you know your Shadowrun, this is a great resource for more easy to run, quick to prep missions. However, if you don’t have all the Shadowrun world lore or an encyclopedic knowledge of 2070’s England and London, you’re going to have a tougher time running these adventures. I did enjoy them, but I need more. I need my mission sheets. I need more information as I love Shadowrun, but don’t have the near 30 years of real world background to run these missions as well as a Seattle run. These are fun missions that are hard core with some hard traps but also some great rewards, so new players may need a bit of extra help to survive and win those rewards. New GMs may need a bit more background to know all that is going on in the world. Overall, it’s an ok book that provides some fun missions, but requires lots of extra work from your GM. 83 %

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Dungeon Crawl Classics #84: Perils of the Purple Planet

April 21, 2015 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Dungeon Crawl Classics #84: Perils of the Purple Planet

System– DCC RPG

Producer– Goodman Games

Price– $50 here for the boxed set http://www.goodman-games.com/5085preview.html

TL; DR– A good hex crawl, but I’d like a bit more guidance as a GM. 97%

Basics– Can you survive a blender of Appendix N other world science fantasy? On the Purple planets a race of ape men fight under the guidance of strange alien powers for control of a desert world full of timeless technology as well as giant worms. It’s every single awesome old school fantasy book, movie, and song rolled into one-the way any DCC RPG product should be made. Will you solve the secret of how to survive the world and find a way home or will you die in the dust?

Mechanics or Crunch– This is a great expansion for the DCC RPG. The kickstarter added a ton of extra content to the adventure box set. Among the different add-ons are a ton of adventure locals, race and class write ups for the kith (the ape men), new technology, an entire world to play in, and much more. Overall, it’s all well done. There are a few issues such as how often encounters happen and other small details I don’t think were as well explained as they could be. Also, I think encounters happen far too often to keep move the story along. It’s not going to end the game by any means, but there are some small issues that did keep me from fully enjoying the product. 4.75/5

Theme or Fluff- What is in this box set is very much amazing. The set comes with a ton of world building. Honestly, there is more world building than in the base book! From a full right-up on kith cultures and a kith class, to the different kind of alien masters, this set is full of stories. My one issue in this book is the players and the GM doesn’t really get an introduction to how to run this thing. Unlike the other DCCRPG adventures, this is really a free form adventure. Players can literally go anywhere, but the boxed set didn’t give me enough directions to keep the story moving in a good direction. It does give a simple base idea of the adventure, but GMs are really on their own to determine what happens on the purple planet and to build a cohesive story there. 4.75/5

Execution– This is a gorgeous boxed set full of tons of amazing books. There are books on crypts from space warriors past, a setting book, the adventure, a player book, a handout book, and even a GM screen. The base DCC RPG doesn’t even have a GM screen! I’d like a bit more spacing and art in the adventure, but honestly, that’s the same thing I complain about with the other DCC RPG adventures. This one makes up for it by sheer volume of well done material. You will learn an impressive amount about this world from the awesome books in this set. 5/5

Summary– I do love me some hex crawling. It’s a great experience to just let the players go and explore the world. This has even more than normal as the players get to explore a completely alien world. This whole adventure box set has not only the named adventure but a ton of extra stuff to get players into this world. It’s all amazingly well done. If this adventure were just the adventure itself, it would not have rated is as high as I did. The extra care put into this set really drives this over the top. My only problems with this set were the lack of guidance as a GM and some minor issues with the mechanics of the set. However, none of that takes away from how impressive this box is. If you want to play in a world where Frank Herbert, Robert Howard, and Jack Vance all mixed their ideas in a blender and poured that over a base of old school D&D, then this is the product for you. 97%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Savage Characters Volume One

April 19, 2015April 19, 2015 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Savage Characters Volume One

System– Savage Worlds

Producer– Dragonlaird Gaming

Price– $5 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/137955/Savage-Characters-Volume-1?manufacturers_id=6270

TL; DR-An excellent book full of useful Savage Worlds characters. 95 %

Basics– Need some characters quick for your Savage Worlds game? Dragonlaird Gaming provides several characters for fantasy, horror, western, and sci-fi settings for the Dragonlaird Gaming Savage Worlds settings. Each character get’s a full write up including a picture, a background, a character sheet, a novice character sheet, some character hooks for different character levels, and an advancement plan for the character. Some characters also get extra setting rules.

Mechanics or Crunch– The best comparison I have for this book is the NPC codex for Pathfinder, and honestly this is much better. Instead of providing several different characters at each level, this book provides less NPCs and gives you an easy way to drop each NPC into your game at any level. That makes this an easy to use resource for you game. Awesome. Even better, this book adds a few new traits for your characters to use. I didn’t expect to find new character options in this book, so that’s a present surprise! One bad thing about this book is, if you don’t know all the Savage World rules, then the character write ups will not be as helpful. Every character has a great write up with all their traits, but if you don’t know those traits off the top of your head, you’re going to be spending some time going back and forth between this book and your other Savage World books. 4.8/5

Theme or Fluff-Each character gets a full right up with a background, description, pictures, and character hooks. I’ve got a picture to show the players, and I can jump into that character on the fly as a GM based on the character hooks and story provided. These are well done complete characters that can help me carry the stories in my games. 5/5

Execution– Overall, this is a well done book. I have a few minor problems with the execution of the PDF. I would like the book to be hyperlinked. Also, the art is good, but some are not as great as others. One more issue I have is I’d like a bit more discretion of the different worlds presented in the book. The character presented work well in any setting, but a bit more description of the worlds would possibly entice me to pay in those places a bit more. However, overall the book loads quick, looks great, and reads easily. 4.5/5

Summary– Need some well done characters quickly for your game? This is the resource you should consider getting. It reads quickly, is well designed, and has some great characters for your games. I do have a few minor qualms, but these problems don’t hurt the overall presentation of the book. If you want to find out how to write a well done NPC book, this is the book to mimic. 95%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Princes of the Apocalypse

April 6, 2015 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Princes of the Apocalypse

System– DnD 5th Edition

Producer– Wizards of the Coast

Price– $50 here http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Elemental-Apocalypse-Adventure/dp/B00U6ALTOA/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1428288898&sr=1-1&keywords=princes+of+the+apocalypse

TL; DR– Good, but I left feeling hungry! 85%

Basics– The elements are back! Around the town of Red Larch, monsters and evil are stirring. Horrible elemental forces are advancing on civilization, and the heroes are the only ones who stand in their way. Can you stop the elemental cults before they summon the elemental evil?

Mechanics or Crunch-This book adds a fair bit to the DnD 5e setting, but what’s here is less than I expected. Overall it’s all well done, but I just want more. The player’s companion online add-on was well done, but that had more options than this book. The monsters and the story all have well done mechanics, but again, I wanted more. I wanted new third level paths for a few classes. I felt at least the cleric should have gotten four new domains and given the GM new tools to add evil elemental mad priests to the world, but that wasn’t added. Clerics don’t even get new spells in this book! What is here is great, but the book feels a bit like leaving hungry after a meal. 4/5

Theme or Fluff- I love the Forgotten Realms, so it’s good to see any more information about that world! The story itself is well done, and provides the players with some great side trips for different adventures across the valley where the story takes place. Even more interesting, some of the previous settings like Dark Sun get some support by providing the GM with Dark Sun information if you wanted to run this adventure there. As a story, this adventure really hits its stride. 5/5

Execution– I don’t really like how WotC is setting up their adventures lately. I feel the descriptions of the rooms bury the lead when it comes to monsters and other descriptions of locations. Also, this book has a lot of information, but it’s somewhat arranged in a difficult to follow layout. The campaign starts at 1st level, but that section before the real adventure is after the start of the campaign, so as a GM of a low level party, I have to flip all over the book. It’s annoying. Also, some of the maps are in different orientations, so unless you notice the compass rose, you’re going to spend a few minutes confused to why things to the north suddenly moved to the south! It’s nothing game shattering, but some of the layout and arrangement choices for the book make this not as enjoyable as it could have been. 3.75/5

Summary– Let me start by saying, I’m just happy to see more D&D products out there! This book is a great continuation of the Forgotten Realms story calling back to some of the most iconic D&D adventures ever written. I also enjoy that other settings are supported by this book, as some of those settings haven’t gotten as much love lately as I’d like. However, this book didn’t deliver as much I hoped. The play section contents less information than the free online player PDF. Also, I would have really liked a few new class additions to really drive home the elemental nature of this story. Furthermore, the execution of this book, while not bad, makes this adventure somewhat hard to read and run. This isn’t a horrible book by any means, but this isn’t as great as the core three books. If you want a great adventure, this is worth it. But if you want some good additions to DnD 5e as a whole, you will be somewhat disappointed. 85%

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Calidar: In Strange Skies

March 30, 2015March 31, 2015 ~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Calidar: In Strange Skies

System– Pathfinder

Producer– Calidar Publishing

Price– $10 here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/133973/Calidar-In-Stranger-Skies

TL; DR– How about some Spelljammer in Pathfinder? 90%

Basics– Set sail for the first star on the right! Calidar is a setting for a universe focusing on flying sky ships that sail between planets with most of the focus on the world of Calidar. While the book goes small enough to detail the kingdom of Meryath on Calidar, the book also has enough universe detail to give any game master enough ideas for how to run the universe. Let’s break this book down into its parts.

Mechanics– This is not a crunch book, but it also doesn’t want to be. Any book that starts with 45 pages of story to introduce the world via fiction wants you to get the world feeling first before even considering the mechanics of the system. For the majority of the crunch here, the system uses Pathfinder for its base mechanics. It does build where it needs to by adding some creatures that are specific to the world. The book does have new sky ships as well as maps for the setting as well. It’s done reasonably well, but there isn’t anything that really builds on Pathfinder’s mechanics to make it its own. That’s not horrible as building on established mechanics system is ok, but I would have liked a bit more to make Pathfinder its own. 4/5

Color- Hand’s down, this is the best part of the book. The book begins with a fun 45 page story and spends most of its pages building a world for the players to play it. The fantasy isn’t completely original with elements like orcs are evil and many common tropes, but that doesn’t made it bad by any means. If you want Pathfinder Spelljammer, this is the setting for you. 5/5

Execution– This book does something different and uses three columns for its text. The text isn’t bad, but the three columns don’t really suit my reading and understanding style. The art here is well done as this is the first RPG book I’ve ever read where the air currents are laid out! That kind of attention to detail is impressive. Honestly, a little more art to break up some text and changing to the use of two columns, and I’d be much happier with the execution of this book. That and maybe a small adventure to help me as a game master get into the world a bit better. 4.25/5

Summary-If you want Spelljammer in Pathfinder, then this is the book for you. You will get the feeling of the old school with his book. This book has lots of details while still giving the writer room to build out into the different planets and still zoom into the micro scale of each city. It’s a good book that really does build its own universe. It’s got its faults as I would have liked to see some Calidar specific Pathfinder mechanics to really own the rules it runs on, and I would suggest a few changes to the layout to help me as a reader get into your text. That said, if you can get past a few minor faults and you want some planet sailing fun, then the best place is to start with a contributing author to Spelljammer back in the TSR days and this book. 90%