Tag: RPG Review

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Adventure: Rusthenge

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Product– Pathfinder Adventure: Rusthenge

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $24.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq02epv?Pathfinder-Adventure-Rusthenge 

TL; DR– A solid single town dungeon crawl 98%

Basics– Where is the dead guy from from?  A man walks to the village and dies.  You join a village elder to find where he came from, why he died, and how to stop the death toll from rising!  Why is everything rusting and falling apart along the way?  

Mechanics or Crunch– I love solid low-level, one-town adventures.  You end up in a town, and within a short bit are delving the dungeon.  The fights are fun, but balanced.  There are not just fights but also enough things happening to give the bard and the rogue something to do.  There is not a ton happening outside of town, so the exploration based ranger will be a bit bored, but it’s balanced in enough ways to make this a solid play.   5/5

Theme or Fluff–  We’ve got cults, traps, undead, and the friends we make along the way.  There is a story the players can unravel and build upon to have a blast.  It’s not one note, but it is a dungeon crawl for most of the adventure.  That is always a blast.  5/5

Execution– This is Paizo!  They know what they are doing.  BUT!  I feel one thing was left a bit loose. There is a way the players can mess with a major end event, but they won’t know about it till they get there.  I feel the GM is in the same boat.  I’d like that emphasized a bit more.  Aside from that, this is a fantastic adventure. 4.75/5

Summary– This adventure honestly feels like the first Diablo to me.  You have a town where bad stuff happened, and you have to delve a dungeon under it to solve the problem.  AND I LOVE IT!  I had a blast, the players had a blast, and the story came through.  It’s got a slight problem, but overall, I’d suggest this to any GM who wants the One town, one dungeon experience.  98%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Savvy & Swagger

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Product– Savvy & Swagger

System- Savvy & Swagger

Producer– Beyond the Horizon

Price– Free or more if you want here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/525596/savvy-swagger?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR– The more you stab, the more you succeed!  97%

Basics–  YARRR WE ARE THE PIRATES WHO DON’T DO ANYTHING!  Savvy and Swagger is an EXTREME rules light RPG about being a pirate.  Do crazy stuff, pirate around, and play children’s games to drink rum in game while you drink rum in real life and have a blast.

Base rules- You have exactly two stats: Savvy or Swagger.  When you want to do anything, you subtract that number from a difficulty.  You then insert that many daggers into a Pop-Up Pirate toy ( https://www.amazon.com/TOMY-T7028A1-Pop-Up-Pirate/dp/B00000JICB ) Pirate pops?  You fail. He doesn’t, you succeed!

Thus concludes the entirety of the rules!  

Mechanics or Crunch– Do you like Dread?  Do you like rules lite?  Do you want a one session game?  This is somehow Lasers and Feelings with fewer rules.  But, I’m down for this.  Stupid, fun is still stupid fun, so embrace the simple rules!  5/5

Theme or Fluff–  This is simple, but it has heart.  You build characters via selecting descriptors and then do that.  The GM can make a game in three d6 rolls.  Then you do stuff.  You can not expect 900 page dissertations on the nature of socioeconomic status of Pirates and local cultures in here.  This is Pirates of the Caribbean levels of reality.  It’s Saturday morning cartoon fun.  Considering how many Saturdays I spent as a kid watching those, this is just pure fun.    5/5

Execution– I LOVE this product and the layout, BUT I have one major issue.  Good layout, easy to read, fun background.  All solid product.  My big BUT is the product description on Drive Thru RPG talks about needing a pop-up pirate toy.  The one page rules does not mention that.  That’s an issue because I bought this, threw it into my google drive and read it a week later COMPLETELY confused on how to roll stabbing on a d6!  I’ve got a lot of D6, but I don’t know what you mean by that. Once I checked the product description again, it completely worked. Add the mention of the toy, and this is a 5/5, but now it’s 4.5/5

Summary– Sometimes you need a Kobolds ate my Baby or a Lasers and Feelings.  I love me a solid 40+ session RPG with rules so thick they absorb light due to their gravitational pull.  But, sometimes, you just want to roll dice, be silly, and do something even sillier.  That is this game.  Go be a pirate.  Heck, you can get this for FREE if you want to try before you pay.  So, there is LITERALLY no reason not to go get this now.  Honestly, now I’ve got a pop up pirate coming to my house from Amazon because of it. 97%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Grave Robbers of Thracia

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Product– Grave Robbers of Thracia

System- DCC RPG

Producer– Goodman Games

Price– OUT SOON!

TL; DR-A great intro to an adventure series!  100%

Basics–  Where are they going?  The dead walk and towns disappear.  Where did they go and can you save your town?

Mechanics or Crunch– God I love a good funnel.  I also want to get a good quick intro to Thracia.  This gives me the mechanical intro to DCC and whittles down the players.  This is a solid, basic funnel.  5/5

Theme or Fluff–  I don’t know much about Thracia, and this gives you the basics of the world.  The world can’t be fully explained, but you get some monsters, some gods, and a fun intro to the world.  It’s enough to hook you for more.  5/5

Execution–  This is Goodman Games.  They know how to write adventures and their audiences.  I love everything here.  5/5

Summary–  This is a good funnel by a good company.  I also love fighting undead, so this is a match made in heaven.  After this adventure, I can’t wait to hop into the larger Caverns of Thracia adventure!  100%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #5-17: Stranded on Yesterday’s Tide

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

Product- Pathfinder Society Scenario #5-17: Stranded on Yesterday’s Tide

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer- Paizo

Price- $8.99 here  https://paizo.com/products/btq03tyu?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-517-Stranded-on-Yesterdays-Tide 

TL; DR- Solid story with a divisive 1st act.  93%

Basics-  TIME LOOP!  When the god died, time ran in a circle.  What happens to those stuck in it?  Can you get them out?

Mechanics or Crunch- The adventure is a good one, but influence is a dividing factor.  Influence encounters are something that divides players.  It’s a mechanical way to make social encounters work, but some players absolutely hate them.  This starts with one.  That will either make you love this adventure or start off weak.  From there it gets better and enters surprising levels of Cthulhu mythos.  And that’s always fun. 4/5

Theme or Fluff-  Mystery, into combat, and then Cthulhu.  That’s the ingredients of a solid four hours of fun. I love the story and enjoy everything it has to offer.5/5

Execution-  It’s Paizo.  They know this.  they know how to lay out an adventure.  5/5

Summary-  I enjoyed this one but not everyone will.  The influence-focused encounters will make some players mad, but others will find their stride. Then it’s combat and skills to win the day.  Those are always fun, so all players will enjoy everything after the first act.  Fun, but something to keep in mind.  93%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #6-14: Twice in Steel

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Product-Pathfinder Society Scenario #6-14: Twice in Steel

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $8.99 here  https://paizo.com/products/btq09hnx?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-614-Twice-in-Steel 

TL; DR– Good but LONG!  87%

Basics– The demons are gone, but very much not forgotten.  The Pathfinder Society hunts for a lost cultist who might restart the Worldwound.  Will you stop her in time?  

Mechanics or Crunch– I love a good hex crawl.  You have some crazy side events, some social, some skill, and a few combats.  The math all works out.  Also, this has probably my favorite event in a PFS scenario: IF YOU STEALTH, YOU AVOID A COMBAT!  It’s not an “it happens later” thing, it’s “you bypass a combat.”  Everyone has something to do in this adventure and the math is solid.   5/5

Theme or Fluff–  This is a hex crawl, so there are lots of things that can happen.  The issue is there are LOTS of things the players might miss or can happen.  As a GM, you have a lot to run in a higher level PFS adventure.  And as a GM you have keep the players on task to get this done within four hours of a con!  It’s REALLY easy for this one to run off the rails if the players go in the wrong direction, miss hints, or even just don’t get all the pieces.  More direction would be nice and even a bit more variety of things to encounter for fights. I love the story and the idea, but this one you have to keep a solid watch on for time. 3/5

Execution–  It’s Paizo.  The adventure reads fast has its own map for the players and the GM, and is organized well.  This is the stuff I want in an adventure for an organized play.  5/5

Summary–  The main issue I and a lot of people will have here is the length of the adventure.  It’s solid, and I WANT more hex crawls in PFS.  But, direction and time are lacking in this one.  Players can easily go off on crazy chases, and that eats precious time off the four hour PFS adventure clock.  But, the other pieces are fantastic.  Maps, monsters, things to do, and even new friends to meet make this a fun adventure for higher level characters.  Make more hex crawls, but maybe provide more directions in the future ones.  87%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #2-23: An Agent’s Obligation

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Product-Pathfinder Society Scenario #2-23: An Agent’s Obligation

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $8.99 here  https://paizo.com/products/btq027rn?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-223-An-Agents-Obligation  

TL; DR– Short but fun! 98%

Basics– Where are the agents?  Cheliax is not a welcoming place, but when you find friends, you take them!  But what happens when agents go missing?  Who’s killing Pathfinders?

Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure is fun, but we are starting to get up there in power!  There are some harder fights here, so Pathfinders need to be prepared.  There are also changes where combat is not the only way forward.  What the players decide to do is all up to them, and that also allows for interesting flexibility in the adventure. 5/5

Theme or Fluff–  The story to this one is good, but failure can break the immersion.  This is a “follow the trail” adventure.  That’s good, but the issue is if the players fail.  If they fail, they can talk to the host who invited the Pathfiners and she will save them.  That’s ok, but it breaks the immersion a bit.  Also, this adventure is good, but a little short depending on the players’ actions.  Make sure they know that if they play smart, then they play quick!  4.75/5

Execution–  This is classic Paizo.  Solid execution, easy to read, fast to set up, and good to run.  5/5

Summary–  This advances the Pathfinder Story, allows for player choice, and if things go well, the players feel smart.  But, if it’s a bad day, then it will be a lot of asking.  I like the choice.  The combats can be hard, but not too bad if the players prepare.  If not, it will be a hard day!  98%  

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #6-07: A God Falls Where Magic Fails 

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Product-Pathfinder Society Scenario #6-07: A God Falls Where Magic Fails

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $8.99 here  https://paizo.com/products/btq0d5n0?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-607-A-God-Falls-Where-Magic-Fails 

TL; DR– Good, but needs more.  82% 

Basics– Oozes with godlike powers?  The Godsrain has caused unexpected things like an ooze with a chunk of the god of war.  Are you strong enough to fight a god?  Can you prove it?.

Mechanics or Crunch–  This is a short adventure with a bit of randomness built in.  The basics are a skill challenge fest, then a fight, a possible fight, and lastly the main, big event fight.  It’s not bad, but it’s maybe a little simple.  4/5

Theme or Fluff–  There is solid stuff here, but the missing parts are a bit noticeable.  The adventure has an awesome picture of an ooze city which is cool, but there are four separate test rooms and the adventure doesn’t give descriptions or pictures of those rooms.  That would REALLY help.  The story is good, but help me help the players understand the room more.  The adventure also has a filler section which is ok, but it’s kind of strange to add filler.  I get if you want to build out parts of the story, but the parts here just for time.  That’s not as much fun as you might want.  It’s good, but focus would help this adventure  3.75/5

Execution–  Paizo does good books.  This reads fast, has nice layout, and has most of the pieces I need for the game.  I’d like more art as some of the random encounters are things I have to hunt down.  Paizo puts the stats in the adventure, but not the art?  Throw those in as well as this effectively has infinite pages.  Also, give me more art for the adventure as above.  The book is still $8.99, so I expect a bit more now.  The execution is good, but needs a bit more to be great.  4.5/5

Summary–  This is a good adventure, but is missing pieces to really help me make a great presentation. The skill rooms are fine, but no art and descriptions make life harder.  The encounters are fine, but some filler encounters that don’t build the world don’t help.  The execution is good, but I need more to run this effectively.  The price doesn’t quite justify all the parts here.  82%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of REDEMPTION Assignment 01: Meat the Enemy

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Product– REDEMPTION Assignment 01: Meat the Enemy

System- Everyday Heroes

Producer– Evil Genius Games

Price– $8.99 here  https://evilgeniusgames.com/shop/ego-assignment-1-01-meat-the-enemy/ 

TL; DR–  Good, but more will help make this great.  87% 

Basics–  Time to be heroes!  Under the direction of Walt, the everyday heroes will attempt to find out why monsters of myth and legend are showing up all around the globe.

Mechanics or Crunch–  Like DnD 5e, but want to shoot a shotgun at a chupacabra?  Then you will love this one.  This is classic 5e DnD mechanics, and they follow the same rules you will often see in these adventures.  It’s simple but functional level 1 design.  4.5/5

Theme or Fluff–   This adventure is really three adventures all in one.  The characters all choose one adventure and go after a beast.  Then you find out it’s a regular bad guy, and you hunt him down.  There you only do one real encounter.  It’s not bad, but is a bit too short. Honestly this is something that if you know what you are doing is about two hours of adventure.  It’s good, but short.  4.5/5

Execution–  This is good, but needs a bit more in layout and pictures.  Evil Genius needs to talk to Paizo and look over their living games.  The stat blocks are fine, but give me set aside pictures I can share with my players.  The maps are good, but consider separate documents that I can use.  For the price I expect a bit more.  It all works well and is something you can play with little prep, but maybe a bit more will help give this the push it needs for greatness.  4/5

Summary–  This is a fun adventure that needs a bit more.  The fights are fun and the run well.  The story is good, but needs more to do.  The execution is fine, but needs just little bit extra for greatness, especially at this price.  Its good, but not quite great.  That said, I and my players will be buying more and running more.  I like what’s here, but it needs more and polish.  87%  

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Dungeon Crawl Classics #107: Forgotten Dangers

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Product– Dungeon Crawl Classics #107: Forgotten Dangers

System- Dungeon Crawl Classics

Producer– Goodreads

Price– $10.99 here  https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/506125/dungeon-crawl-classics-107-forgotten-dangers?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR– Good intro DCC RPG One-shots.  97% 

Basics–  Let’s jump in!  Forgotten dangers is a group of six random DCC adventures.  They are not really connected to each other, but they are small, bite sized fun that you can drop into any DCC game.

Mechanics or Crunch–  These adventures are set up well enough to be the right mix of deadly and fun. The crunch here works.  There are crazy powerful items to play with as well as crazy powerful dangers.  It’s solid DCC RPG fun. 5/5

Theme or Fluff–   The individual adventures are fantastic, but I wish there was a connection between them.  The individual adventures are all bat crap crazy, and that’s exactly what you play DCC for.  The fault is the individuals are not connected.  The adventures are good, but I wish they were a bit connected.  4.5/5

Execution–  Solid layout, text, art, and flow make this an easy read. If you need an adventure for a session you did not prepare for, these adventures, while a bit simple, are enough that you have a solid four hours and can just hop right in as a GM.  5/5

Summary– I love DCC RPG.  I love random one shots.  This product is just those.  It’s fun, but I wish this was a campaign or written where it could be.  But without flow, this is still just solid fun to run with your friends. 97%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Starfinder Tech Class Playtest

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Product– Starfinder Tech Class Playtest

System- Starginder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– FREE here  https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo6zwqx&page=1?Starfinder-Tech-Class-Playtest

TL; DR– Good, but a loss of flavor.  93% 

Basics– Why not tech wizards!  The tech playtest focuses on the technomancer and the mechanic.  The mechanic is the pet class with rogue elements of being skill based and the technomancer is the wizard.

Mechanics or Crunch– The classes work.  They both operate well within the realms of the base Pathfinder 2e mechanics.  The mechanic is a pet class and it follows the basic pet class idea, and the Technomancer feels like a sorcerer bloodline on a wizard.  Those are good pieces making a great whole.  5/5

Theme or Fluff–  I like what’s here, but I also feel like we may have lost things in edition change.  The mechanic lost the ability to just put a computer in their head and do awesome stuff.  What’s here is good, but it’s also a bit less than what it could have been.  The technomancer doesn’t feel like its own thing.  It’s a wizard with a bloodline.  That’s not bad, but I wanted more.  I wanted maybe even a whole new school of spells here.  It’s still just arcane spells.  Again, not bad by any stretch, but I wanted tech spells.  These two things don’t feel distinct.  4/5

Execution– It’s Paizo.  Solid layout, production, art, and even text makes this something to be studied.  Yes, I keep saying the exact same things, but it’s for the exact same reason.   For a free product, this is amazingly well done.  5/5

Summary– I like the options, but I want more distinct things in the future.  Overall, these will play amazingly well with the rest of the classes out there.  I just want new ground to be broken with Starfinder.  Right now Starfinder 2nd ed feels more like a setting change and less like it’s own edition.  Thats good for some respects, but bad for others.  Then again, I’m gonna play the hell out of this system.  So I may not be getting exactly what I want, but I am getting Pathfinder in Space, which I want!  93%