Tag: RPG Review

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Distal RPG Preview

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Product– Distal RPG

System- Distal RPG

Producer– Wrel

Price– free here https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/wrel/distal 

TL; DR– DCC and DnD5e had a more realistic baby!  93% 

Basics– For Edervale!  Distal is a new RPG currently being kickstarted.  The writer has provided a MASSIVE preview that includes a lot of character options, several pregens, and even a short adventure.  Let’s break it down for a review. 

Basics- This is a d20 rpg.  You have five statistics and a combination of 20 skills and knowledges.  When you want to do anything, it’s D20 plus the statistic for checks or D20 plus the statistics and the bonus for the knowledge or skill.  That’s it.  Common things are a DC8 most are a DC10, and things can get EXTREMELY hard with some things being a DC22.

Dice steps- Like DCC RPG, this system uses dice steps.  Distal sticks to normal dice with the dice chain being d4-d6-d8-d10-d12.  No funky dice here!

Character creation- This system has a ton of options and a ton of randomness if you want it.  Characters choose a race/lineage and a class.  There is also a background.  Backgrounds provide what you would expect:  additional skills, items, and knowledges based on the life events you experienced.  What makes them interesting is you can also randomly roll on several charts to randomly build a background!  No traveler death during character creation though!

Combat- Combat is round based, but not based on your normal initiative score.  After the GM determines who has the drop on the other side, each side does one action, then the other side does an action, alternating between the two.  Characters get the expected actions in a combat round with a move, an action, and smaller things like techniques that are quick actions.  In addition to the checks above, characters have an attack bonus based on their class, and it’s just D20 plus that bonus to attack.  Damage is dice based like DnD with bonuses based on your statistics.  The interesting change here is damage reduction with armor.  Armor doesn’t really provide a bonus to defense, but reduces damage taken.  Each armor provides a damage reduction die.  If you roll a 1 on that die, then you don’t reduce much damage and the die gets one step smaller.  Go too small and the armor is completely broken!

Willpower-  Characters have willpower dice as part of their character class.  These dice are gained at the start of combat and through other events, or as my favorite:  story candy and buying the GM beer.  When a character wants to add just an extra bit of extra to a D20 roll, a character can spend willpower and roll their willpower die to add the result to their total.

Magic- Magic is very similar to DnD5e.  Characters either prepare spells once a day or know so many depending on their level.  In either case, the caster can cast so many a day depending on their level and then they are out for the day.  Characters might not be able to cast a lot of spells, but spells are extremely powerful with the ability to easily kill a first level character straight out!

Death- Death is PERMANENT!  There is no resurrection.  If your guy dies, hes dead!  You do get deathmarks, however.  When you drop to zero hit points, you begin to die and take a deathmark.  These build up as you continue to die and each time you fall down again.  You can remove some as you relax, but get too many and eventually you will not be able to get back up again, EVER!

Alright, thats the basics, let’s dig in.

Mechanics or Crunch–  This is an interesting RPG.  It is not a copy of either DCC or DnD5e.  It is VERY close to both, but in good ways.  It’s not brutal nor gritty, but it is more realistic as damage hurts bad and death is close.  The mechanics are simple.  Maybe a bit too simple and you don’t get a ton of skills, but that’s by design.  Combat is not too simple, but simple enough to make the game flow easily. Overall, it’s good, but not the most original RPG this year.  4.5/5

Theme or Fluff–  The fluff of this world is interesting.  The preview doesn’t provide everything for good reason, but what is presented is good.  It might not be the most original setting as it feels like many of the classic RPG setting pieces I know and love.  It sticks with the more usual suspects like undead, monsters, and dudes with militaries being the bad guys, but those are fun things to smack back into place to save the world.  Not the most original setting, but still a fun place to play. 4.5/5

Execution– This is a solid preview.  There an OVER 100 PAGE document showing the system and world WITH HYPERLINKS!  There is a full adventure with at least four premade characters.   This is exactly what I want when I see a new RPG kickstarter.  It’s new, but shows what’s to expect.  I love what I’m seeing, AND IT’S ALL FOR FREE!.  5/5

Summary– Used to love DnD5e and I love DCC.  This RPG is a solid mix of those two right down the middle.  Simple mechanics with just a D20 plus numbers, but skills and knowledges for all.  A simple world where there are bad guys and how the world addresses that.  It’s the most new in any category, but it is done well.  I can already see the first source book as the one group is summoning undead and those undead are running around, and I didn’t see a player character undead race.  Given what I’ve seen, this will turn out to be a solid RPG that will get my silly friends to be a bit more serious and my serious friends to play a bit more loose!  93%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Knight: An Avalon RPG Quick Start

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Product– Knight: An Avalon RPG quickstart

System- Knight: An Avalon

Producer– Antre Monte Editions

Price– free here https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/all-about-games-consulting/knight-rpg     

TL; DR– Power Rangers meets Dark Horror with NEON!  97% 

Basics– Let’s cancel the Apocalypse!  Knight: An Avalon RPG is a near modern day retelling of Camelot with men and women donning power armor to kill horrors out of the dark.  Let’s break this down.  

Basics- This is a d6 rpg.  Your character has five aspects with three characteristics under each aspect for a total of 15 skills.  When you want to do anything, you total the correct aspect with the correct characteristic and roll that many dice. Each even result is success and each odd is a failure.  If you hit the correct amount of successes determined by the GM for the thing you are attempting to do, you succeed.  A good aspect is a five and your off aspects are about threes with your characteristics ranging from one to three most of the time.  The normal difficulty is three successes.  No success at all is critical failure, while all success is a great feat/critical success.

Combat-  Combat is round based and mostly theater of the mind.  You have initiative which is 3d6+ an initiative score.  Each round a character gets a move and an action with some reactions.  When you attack a target you are aiming at the defense score for melee and at a reaction score for ranged combat.  Here is the fun meat and potatoes of the game.  You are not just a dude with a gun fighting horrors, you are a guy/gal in power armor.  Your power armor has a force field that subtracts from all damage dealt to you.  After that, you have armor points which act as the armor’s hit points and for every 10 the armor loses, you lose one of yours as you get battered around in the suit.  Once the suit’s taken enough damage, it retracts and you’re just a guy/gal fighting the horrors of the dark!

Suit powers-  Your suit has powers as well and these are fueled with the suits energy points.  This works just like magic points in any RPG as you spend as much as you want until the suit is tapped out and you’re just left with your guns, fists, and harsh language.

Hope- Hope is sanity in this game.  As you experience the horrors in the dark, you have to make checks to see if you lose hope.  If you lose all your hope, you effectively die as you just become an agent of the darkness.

Heroism- Story candy!  Heroism is the story candy of this game where you get it for story reasons or just being the guy/gal to buy pizza that week.  It lets you reroll dice, avoid dying, not lose hope, or any other cool thing that the GM lets you do.

Alright, thats the basics, let’s dig in.

Mechanics or Crunch– This game plays like a strange version of Shadowrun and that’s a good thing.  This is a VERY crunchy game with piles of d6s being thrown at a problem.  I like that.  Some things feel a bit inconsistent, like choosing DCs.  When I want to do something opposed by a bad guy, the DC is half their relevant ability, but you do not do that for their defense stats.  That feels just a tiny bit off.  Not enough that it will keep me away, however. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff–  Want gritty power rangers with rampant evils of capitalism and magic crap all over?  Yep, I do too.  That’s what this game feels like.  Do you remember the 90s TV cartoon where football players went back and were working for Merlin with magic power armor? Mix that with a little Clive Barker and TONS of neon light tracery, and you get this.  Yes, I want that.  5/5

Execution– This is well done and almost perfect for a crowd-funded project.  There is a 30+ page book with art, a basic walkthrough of the game, and a short adventure WITH five premade characters.  My ONE issue is that there is no hyperlinking.  But it’s 30 pages and free.  If I wanted to play it with friends, it took me 30 minutes to read through cover to cover and have enough of an idea how to play and run.  That’s a hell of an introduction.  5/5

Summary–  I grew up in the 90s and am a sucker for any power armor heroes.  I also loved the Matrix and Dark City.  This is that in a blender.  I have some slight reservations about how numbers are calculated, but that’s not enough to keep me away.  This is one to check out as it’s free, and in my opinion well worth your time.  97%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Daggerheart Playtest

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Product– Daggerheart Playtest

System- Daggerheart

Producer– Darrington Press

Price– free here https://app.demiplane.com/nexus/daggerheart/sources/playtest     

TL; DR– RPG fusion! 93% 

Basics– The Critical Roll bunch have an RPG!  Let’s look over this d12 fusion RPG!

Basics- This is a 2d12 rpg.  You roll both, add abilities and statistics, and see if you hit a desired DC.  Pretty simple for the basics.

Hope and fear or 2d12- The basics are not too strange, but when you roll, you roll 2 different colored d12.  One is your hope and one is your fear.  If the hope beats the fear value, then you gain hope.  If the fear beats the hope, then the GM gets to stop the action and jump in or gets to bank a fear for later.

Using hope- Hope is used to either help yourself or an ally when they roll.  You can spend hope to give your friend an additional d12 hope die and choose the better of them.  Also, you have a set of experiences.  These are akin to skills in DnD.  When an experience you have makes sense for a particular action and you want to, you can spend hope to gain the value of an experience as a bonus to the roll.

Combat, turns, and damage- This is a VERY heavy roleplaying game with less focus on crunch.  Combat is not round based.  Players can do any action from using abilities or attacking and place a token on the action tracker.  This continues until a character rolls higher on the fear die.  Then the GM gets to play using each token on the action tracker to do something such as attacking, using abilities, and removing conditions on enemies.  In either case, if an attack is made, the attack goes against an evasion score.  If the attack hits, then the attacker rolls damage.  Damage does not just reduce hit points by an amount, but instead the attack goes against damage thresholds causing between zero and 3 hit points.  If the attack hits but fails to hit the lowest damage threshold, you take stress.  Stress is another stat and represents your body gradually being beaten down, but not enough to hurt you hard.  Stress can also come from the environment or abilities you or enemies have.  In addition, armor allows you to reduce damage, but it also gets beaten down with use.  If you choose, you can reduce damage by your armor value, but you have to check off a use.  No uses left means you can’t use your armor.  No stress left means you can’t use that ability and all rolls against you have advantage.

Using Fear- Fear is the GMs version of hope.  Fear allows enemies to do some actions, for the environment to do some actions, or even for the GM to add additional tokens to the turn tracker.

Alright, thats the basics, let’s dig in.

Mechanics or Crunch– The mechanics here are interesting.  It’s not deep enough to be DnD, but its also not deep enough to be Shadowrun. It’s heavily based on the Cypher system.  That’s not bad, but it’s also really up in the air.  If you want consistency, this won’t be the game for you.  If you can handle the give and take of this game, it’s a solid game.  5/5

Theme or Fluff–  For the story, what’s here is good, but it’s also not done.  It’s got a solid adventure, but you won’t see much world building here, but more is coming as they write more.  I don’t hate anything, but I need more details in the base game, not just the adventure.  4.5/5

Execution– This is an interesting one.  I love online materials, but Nexus does not have an app.  I also don’t like the lack of an index.  If it’s present, I have a hard time finding it, so that’s just as bad.  The basic functions work well, but again there is no app.  So, using a phone for this can be a bit of a pain. The adventure is nice and is fun.  The character PDFs are nice as well and have solid help sections for the players.  4.5/5

Summary– This RPG leaves me optimistic.  The mechanics and theme are interesting.  I want more.  Give me an app and give me some more world building, and I’d be even happier.  That said, if you need hard crunch this won’t be for you.  But it’s free, so check this one out.  At worst, you see the system building before your eyes.  It’s also an interesting mix of several different parts from other RPGs.  You got bits from DnD all the way to the cypher system.  I like those, so I like this as well.  93%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Friends in Need

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Product– Friends in Need

System- Shadow of the Weird Wizard

Producer– Schwalb Entertainment

Price– $2.49 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/475523/Friends-in-Need?affiliate_id=658618     

TL; DR– Solid start to a campaign.  98% 

Basics– The blacksmith’s gone MAD!  The kind hearted man has attacked and been contained but why… Can the heroes save the town from some deeper lurking threat?

Mechanics or Crunch– This is a pretty simple adventure, but solid enough to jumpstart a campaign.  The adventure has exploration, combat, and social parts to allow the characters of all types to shine.  It’s gonna be a bit hard, but Schwalb Entertainment adventures tend to be a bit killer.  Complaining about that is like complaining that spicy food is spicy.  It’s balanced for what it’s aiming to be, but still fun for those looking to get into the system and maybe even a campaign.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– Again, this is simple but what Schwalb wants in his adventures for this setting.  It’s heroic with little to no gore and moral ambiguity.  It’s just the heroes finding the cause, finding the solution, and killing bad guys along the way.  Solid fun for a hero.  5/5

Execution–  I like what’s here, but that’s contingent on there being more in the future.  Right now, the item this links to is prepublication.  If you want some Weird Wizard, then this is a good enough document (it even has a map!) that will get you playing in about 10 minutes.  That’s good, but the layout is a bit lacking.  Also, and this is a pet peeve, I want pregens.  Give me at minimum a party of four with a better option being eight, two of each base class.  They don’t even exist on Schwalb Entertainment’s website.  That would make getting this play started even faster, and make getting my friends in even easier.  That said, for the price you get a solid adventure with a map to explore.  It’s good, but when fully published, it will even be better!  4.75/5

Summary–  I do love me some “shadow” system by Schwalb.  This is a good, but uncomplicated intro to his vision of how to play.  It’s got the three pieces of a good adventure, and will let all the different characters shine.  If you need Game of Thrones levels of background and intrigue you will be disappointed by this adventure.  For the execution, it works, but this is a prerelease.  It’s also pretty cheap, so even if it doesn’t massively change after layout, it’s still enough to justify the price.  So far, I’m happy with how this system is working.  98%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of The Hidden Library

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Product– The Hidden Library

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed or DnD 5e

Producer– Beyond the Horizon

Price– $2 or free! here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product_info.php?products_id=472184%7B1%7D1&discounts_id=99fec55d94&info_message=Discount%20redeemed.%20The%20Hidden%20Library%20%28PF2%29%20has%20been%20added%20to%20your%20cart%20at%20a%20discounted%20price&checkout_after_login=1&?affiliate_id=658618   

TL; DR-Good library fun for free!  95% 

Basics– Moonlight library madness!  Our heroes are hired to infiltrate a library that only appears at night.  Can the heroes get in, get the goods, and get out while nature fights them at every turn?

Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure is well balanced and has several different pieces for the players to play with.  There’s combat, social, and a big skill test to find the hidden book.  Many of the combats use standard creatures, but there are custom encounters and haunts as part of this adventure.  Overall, it’s a well done crunch.    5/5

Theme or Fluff– Beyond the Horizon is building a world adventure by adventure.  This adventure builds off other published adventures and characters they introduced, and the continuation is appreciated.  And as in the crunch, there are social and skill tests to let different players get into the action.  It might need a bit more box text to build into the story, but overall it’s well done.  4.75/5

Execution–  I like what’s here, but this needs a bit more to be amazing.  I like the text and pictures.  I have one minor issue with the layout as I think the background color is a bit strong and  partially distracts from the text.  I like the fact that the adventure has a separate bestiary with all the different monsters in it.  I HATE when a book tell me to go somewhere else when I paid for this book!  The one issue that might hurt this book is the lack of maps.  Other adventures from Beyond the Horizon have had maps, so that might have helped here.  But it’s hyperlinked and reads fast, so my only issue is I want more.    4.5/5

Summary-The Hidden Library is a solid adventure where my real only issue is that I would like more content.  The crunch is good, and the company is building a world piece by piece leading to something bigger.  I’m enjoying what is coming out. I would like a bit more story and maps, but if you have some generic maps you will be fine.  And for the price of FREE get this one ASAP!  95 %

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Shadow of the Weird Wizard

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Product– Shadow fo the Weird Wizard

System- Shadow of the Weird Wizard

Producer– Schwalb Entertainment

Price– $19.99 here https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/457226/shadow-of-the-weird-wizard?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR– A LOT more but not what some expected.  99% 

Basics– Family friendly fantasy Schwalb!  Shadow of the Weird Wizard is Schwalb Entertainment’s family friendly fantasy RPG.  Let’s look at the basics then the breakdown.

Base Mechanics- This game is d20 based with the normal base numbers you would expect.  There are only four attributes (strength, agility, intelligence, and will).  The interesting part is your abilities directly determine a bonus to any roll. If you are asked to make a will roll, you look at your will attribute, subtract 10, and add that number to a d20 roll.  So if you have a will of 13, then then the bonus is +3.  Simple. This goes for everything from attacks to opening a lock.  The number you are aiming for most times is a 10 for a success.

Boons and banes-  Aside from a d20, the other die this game uses often is a d6.  If you have an advantage in a situation, then you roll a boon or a d6 and ADD the value to the d20 roll.  If you have a disadvantage you roll a bane or a d6 and you SUBTRACT the value from the d20 roll.  If you have multiple boons or banes, you roll multiple dice but combine only the most extreme penalty or bonus to your d20 roll.  Boons and banes counteract one another, so two banes and three boons mean you get one boon on the roll. 

Combat- Combat is a bit simpler than Shadow of the Demon Lord.  Here, each side takes a turn with the GM or Sage going first.  All their NPCs go first moving, attacking, or casting spells, and then the players can choose whatever order they want to take.  Each turn a player can move and take an action.  These actions are attacks, spells, and anything else a player can think of.

Leveling up– This is the biggest change Schawlb brings to the world of RPGs.  Leveling up in all the Shadow games is simple and occurs quite often.  After a four hour adventure, you level up.  Not after multiple sessions.  Not at specific XP levels.  Just after every completed game.  Leveling up is also predictable.  Level 1 and 2 you get levels in your base class or your novice path.  Level 3 and 4 you choose an expert path.  5 is back to your novice path.  6 is your expert path.  7 and 8 are a master path.  9 is your expert path, and finally 10 is the master path final level.  The classes/paths are split into four basic areas: fighter, rogue, wizard, and cleric, and this is the same for both the expert and master paths as well.  So you can be a novice cleric, then a mountebank (rogue), and finally an alienist (wizard) and the flow will be fun and works well.

Ok, now my breakdown. 

Mechanics or Crunch– I like the Shadow games.  This is no different.  This one doesn’t have the slow/fast turn mechanics of the Shadow of the Demonlord, but that will make this appeal to a wider audience of gamers.  Aside from that, this game’s goal is to be fast.  Schwalb wants to make an approachable game that flows fast.  And this does.   5/5

Theme or Fluff– Schwalb is not known for being family friendly.  His other stuff is just bizarre and gross AND I LOVE IT.  This is meant to be a very different experience.  It’s well done, but if you want the gothic horror of Shadow of the Demon Lord, you will be disappointed.  However, if you want a family friendly game then this is the Schwalb Entertainment that you would bring to the table. 5/5

Execution–  This is a solidly put together game that meets all the base requirements I need and want in a book.  There is art that breaks up text blocks.  There is a solid layout to ease reading.  And there are hypertext to make this a breeze to move through quickly.  The one thing I do not like is the lack of a walkthrough of making a character and leveling up. I know it’s not hard, but those things are something I think really helps the new players.  That said, this is a near perfect book for production. 4.9/5

Summary– I have always loved what Schwalb Entertainment puts out.  It’s a very different philosophy compared to other RPGs and companies.  This is no different, but it is a change from the normal tone of Schwalb.  Not bad, but different.  You have to know exactly what you are getting here.  This is a player book, not a full system book.  The original Shadow of the Demon Lord was an all in one book.  This is not that.  If you think that this one book will do it all, you will be disappointed.  But this book doesn’t skimp on content as you get a crazy amount of things for your money.  I just would like a few more examples for perfection.  99%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #5-04: Equal Exchanges – Necessary Introductions

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Product– Pathfinder Society Scenario #5-04: Equal Exchanges – Necessary Introductions

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $ 8.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq02esl?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-504-Equal-Exchanges-Necessary-Introductions 

TL; DR– Good with a few issues. 90% 

Basics– Let’s go make friends!  The Pathfinder society wants to make friends with a dragon, and YOU get to make the introductions.  Don’t mess up, because you can be flamebroiled and are tasty with ketchup! 

Mechanics or Crunch– The adventure has all the pieces where they should be and they generally work well.  There are about 3 fights, a couple traps, and a skill challenge. Those are all mechanically done well.  The skill challenges are not as much fun as they could have been, because my players tend to feel like they want them to just end by accomplishing X solutions before Y events.  I can dress that up, but the repeated challenges can get boring in a hurry, so I just let them succeed if they do well enough. Overall what’s here is good, but it has a few issues.  4.5/5

Theme or Fluff– This adventure is a pretty simple story where the normal dungeon crawl is flipped.  Instead of going into a place where you are NOT supposed to be, you are invited into this one.  However, some elements feel a bit crammed in.  I like the goblins making kimchi, but they are not really needed and it detracts from the overall flow.  My players didn’t really explore much; why would you just explore a person’s house if they are waiting for you?  Also the last fight just doesn’t need to happen.  Maybe having a hallway fight with OTHER robbers would be a better way to endear the kobold butler to the players?  Something to consider.     4/5

Execution–  Pathfinder by Paizo?  Yeah this is gonna be a slam dunk.  I might not be crazy about the 9 buck price tag, but for five people to get 3ish hours of entertainment, then I’m a bit more ok.  5/5

Summary– This is a decent adventure that will tie to something bigger.  And that’s the whole hope of organized play.  It’s a fun ~3 hour adventure where the players get some fights, some social encounters, and some skill tests.  It’s well put together, but a few issues crop up along the way that prevent perfection.  Some are system choice issues and some are flow issues.  None are going to hurt this in a fatal way, but maybe change an element or two to make this a better experience. 90%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pericle: Gathering Darkness

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Product– Pericle: Gathering Darkness

System- Pericle: Gathering Darkness

Producer– Long Dog Games

Price– $ 150 here https://www.periclethegame.com/products 

TL; DR– Not quite Gloomhaven 83% 

Basics– Friends cancel for DnD?  Long Dog Games got a game for you.  Pericle: Gathering Darkness is a 1 to 4 (kind of) tabletop RPG with maps and miniatures provided.  You use an app to guide the monster’s turns, and you respond to the world.  Let’s break this down.

Mechanics- This game uses a D10 based mechanic for all skill and attack rolls.  One side is automatic failure, one side is a critical success, four sides are normal successes,and the other four are numbers 1 to 4.  When you do an action, if you have no skills the successes are the only ways to succeed.  If you have skill in an action, you can roll that number or a success to succeed.

Characters and leveling- While this is an app driven game, there are multiple ways to build characters.  There is a basic character generation system which lets you choose abilities and races however you want.  The game also comes with several pregenerated characters so you can just hit the ground running.

Combat– Combat is run by the app and the tabletop.  The app will randomly decide what side goes first, either players or enemies.  Then the game goes into movement for one side, movement for the other side, then based on initiative each character and enemy will go.   A very important thing to consider is the Embattled condition.  If you move and are in the forward arc of a character, you are embattled and stop your movement.  For my old school, 3.5 DnD friends, if you would provoke an attack of opportunity using the facing rules from the front, you are embattled. Also important, some actions like ranged weapons and spells cant be used if you move more than 1 hex.

Magic- This is an interesting use of magic. Magic is cast till you pass out!  When you cast a spell you take damage and exhaustion.  Each spell specifies an amount of damage or an amount you can vary for different effects.  The damage is hit points, but you mark down the damage as exhaustion as well.  When you rest you heal all exhaustion and that same amount of damage.

Let’s go into the breakdown.

MAJOR LET DOWN!  This game says it’s for 1 to 4 players, but that means 3 to 4 characters.  If, like me, you only want to play one character, then you have to play 3 to 4 players.  Which means, I might as well play DnD…  You can play 1 person, but then you have to run four characters.  That makes me angry on a personal level when I can’t just run one character and my wife run one character, so all scores max out at 4.5 for this one!

Mechanics or Crunch– Overall this game is done well,but it doesn’t quite hit all the points I was hoping for.  The d10 based mechanic is an interesting one.  It works decently well, but sometimes the embattled condition is more tiring as facing always does slow a game down. The addition of magic using HP is a fun way to let casters go wild while still keeping a bit of control in the system.  If you like facing based combat, you will love this.  I’m not as much of a fan.  4.25/5

Theme or Fluff– This game is an interesting mix of a choose your own adventure and a dudes on a map combat game.  The crunch is good, and for the most part the story is interesting.  You are slaves sold into being gladiators.  From there the story continues as your choices alter what happens next.  Like any RPG campaign, some things are always going to happen regardless of your choices, but overall, I do feel like I was playing a game with my buddies.  4.5/5

Execution–  Here is where I think I will get the biggest flack for my opinion.  I was not as impressed as I hoped to be.  The game provides several maps and acrylic miniatures.  Those are ok.  Some do not match the pictures the game uses, and that causes some problems, but I don’t think what I got was worth 150 bucks.  Next, the app is a choose your own adventure book online. It’s not a stand alone app, but a website that runs combat.  That’s ok, but some things are voiced with standing pictures on youtube.  And that’s ok.  I don’t need multi million dollar voice actors and animated cutscenes.  But only some things are videos.  Many are just text.  This goes as far as not even given pictures to all the named NPCs.  Even some of the tutorial isn’t voiced and is basically me reading the text in the rulebook on a screen instead of reading the rulebook.  The app is also interesting as you have to mark if you embattled a character.  You can go backwards and it will adjust a character’s actions, so if you miss someone being engaged in a fight, it will correct their actions.  That is a nice touch.  Overall, I just felt that several maps and an app where, at most, I get four choices at a time felt like I wasn’t quite getting my money’s worth.  See our unboxing here: https://youtu.be/PCMDwvbBow0    3.75/5

Summary-I love games where my wife and I can be on the same side and play an epic adventure.  This game gets me most of the way to where I want to be, but isn’t quite it.  The mechanics are good, but a bit like grinding gears.  The story is good and interesting.  What I got in the box and what I got on the app is ok, but not quite enough.  To put this in perspective, my favorite co-op RPG Gloomhaven retailed at about 150 and 12 bucks more for the storyteller app to read me the box text.  This is about that price and I feel I get less.  And two players can just be two players and play.  What’s here is ok, but I am automatically let down when I see I have to play multiple characters.  This is fun, but know EXACTLY what you are getting in the game! 83%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Tinny Dungeons

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

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

Product– Tinny Dungeons

System- Tinny Dungeons

Producer– ArchmageArispen

Price– $ 33.72 here https://www.etsy.com/listing/1476249256/tinny-dungeons-minimalist-pocket-rpg-in

TL; DR– Good, but maybe a bit too tiny! 87% 

Basics– How about an RPG that fits in a sardine tin!  Tinny dungeons is a micro RPG.  Let’s break down the game and what’s here.

Mechanics- This game’s basic mechanic is d6.  You roll a number of dice equal to a a stat and if one is equal to the difficulty number (2 for easy and up to 6 for amazingly hard), you succeed either dealing damage or negotiating with the queen.

Characters- The characters have three stats (strength, dexterity, and mind), an AC for attacks, hit points, a weapon with a relevant skill, and one special skill.  It’s a Tinny RPG, so don’t expect much more!

World-The world is a few additional cards with locations with descriptions, peoples, and monsters.  Again, it’s TINNY, so don’t look for 500 page books of world lore!

Let’s go into the breakdown.

Mechanics or Crunch– This is a fun game, but I feel I’m missing a few things.  It’s micro, so you don’t get much more than one power per character.  That’s fine, but leveling and other things are left out.  I don’t know how to level or build characters.  Nor do I know the price of basic goods.  It’s minimal, but a bit too minimal.  What’s here is well done, but what’s missing is important. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff– My thoughts on the mechanics also echo here.  What’s here is amazing, but what’s missing is something I notice.  The characters are a business card and carry a lot of world with them as they have a fun picture, power, and stats all provide a bit of world building.  The maps and locations give world building as well, but I’d like a bit more.  Give me a basic quest to run through rather than a simple seven room dungeon.  This may seem harsh, but there are only 14 cards in the box, so there is a room for two more to give me a “save the princess from the goblins” quest.  All that said, I do  love what is here, just want a bit more.  4/5

Execution–  Much like the above, what’s here is good, but it a bit small.  I get that the product is small, but it’s too little.  For the price, you get a metal case, 14 cards, two dice, and a pencil.   All those are well done.  And to be fair, I pay a lot more for games without even pencils, so I have to give this game credit for that.  I just want a few more cards with a bit more stuff to explain the world.  Sell me a 30 card expansion pack with more world and rules, and I’d honestly buy it!  See all the pieces in our unboxing here: https://youtu.be/F_jxmYU_suE   4.5/5

Summary– I love small RPGs, and they don’t get much smaller than this one.  This is a solid RPG if you want a one shot dungeon crawl.  It’s a limited system, but it does what it set out to to.  I’d like a bit more to help me build on, but if this came out at the bar, I’d happily play between eating chicken wings.  It’s not a weekend killer, but it is a fun time with my one power priest.  87%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder One-Shot #3: Head Shot the Rot

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Pathfinder One-Shot #3: Head Shot the Rot

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $ 9.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq02aoq?Pathfinder-OneShot-3-Head-Shot-the-Rot 

TL; DR-This is what I want more of.  100%

Basics– AIM FOR THE HEAD!  Head Shot the Rot is a one-shot drop-in game for four PCs set in Alkenstar.  It’s a glorious “Kill the bad guys, save everyone!” kind of adventure.

Mechanics or Crunch– This is Night of the Living Dead in Pathfinder.  You have some zombies and you have some people.  You get some skill checks, some combat, and some social.  That’s all the pieces of the game I want.  And I’m happy!  It’s solid mechanics with 3rd level PCs and some monsters that can tear them up if they screw up, but enough firepower to make sure that doesn’t happen.  Finely balanced as all things should be.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– You start in a bar with your buds, bad happens, and you kill it.  Save the people, get the money.  That’s the story and there is enough in the adventure and maps to build that into a fun place to play and explore even if you don’t go far.  The PCs and I had a blast with this one.  5/5

Execution– It’s Paizo.  They know how to lay out a book, make nice art, make it easy to read, and get me the information I need in a hurry.  It’s 10 bucks, which is a bit pricey, but it filled four hours.  This beats the movie test of if I went to the movies with the same friends, would we spend more.  So, I don’t feel ripped off here.  It comes with art, maps, and PCs – all the toys I need to literally just drop in Roll20 and play.  5/5

Summary–  Some days you crave Game of Thrones level intrigue, and others you  just want a bunch of zombies, a gun, and a goal.  This is the latter.  I loved everything here.  It’s a fun one shot where all the players get what they want out of this, while I had fun and did not need hours of prep before.  Hey Paizo! Make more of these, and then connect them to each of the adventure paths.  I’d buy them!  100%