Tag: Shadow of the Weird Wizard

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Friends in Need

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

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%

Daily Punch 3-14-24 Philosophers Stone master alchemy spell for Shadow of the Weird Wizard

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ 1 Comment

Let’s dissolve everything!

Philosophers Stone
CASTINGS: 1
TARGET: One1 creature or object within 5 yards
DURATION: 1 minute
You create a stone that allows you to turn anything into gold. Make an intellect roll against the target’s agility. On a success, the target instantly loses 8d6 health and becomes slowed (luck ends). Each time the targets gets a failure on the roll to end the affliction, it becomes held until the end of the next round and it loses an additional 4.6 health. A creature reduced to 9 health is turned to gold permanently. If carved up, the gold is worth its normal value and does not change back into the target. You can touch multiple creatures with the stone for the duration of the spell

Thoughts?

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

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ 1 Comment

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 Shadow of the Weird Wizard

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Weird Wizard Quick Play

System- Shadow of the Demon Lord

Producer– Schwalb Entertainment

Price– FREE here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/447890/Weird-Wizard-Quick-Play?cPath=46428?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR-Classic fantasy from the Schwalb?! 100%

Basics– We must face the weird wizard!  Shadow of the Weird Wizard is Shadow of the Demon Lord brought to a much more traditional and family friendly world from Robert Schwalb.  Let’s break down the quick start and then the review!

Mechanics- This is classic Shadow of the Demon Lord game play.  It’s d20 based but numbers are MUCH smaller than your classic DnD 3.5.  Bonuses to rolls are attribute – 10.  A 12 means you get a +2 to the roll and a 7 would mean a -3.  If things are good you get boons where you roll a d6 and add, and banes are roll a d6 and subtract.  You get the sum total of boons and banes together and you get a total of up to 3d6 taking the best/worst to any roll.

Combat- Schwalb’s games are not crunch forward.  It’s VERY quick!  Monsters go, then players go.  Each turn you get a move and an action.  Interestingly enough, most dice rolls are either a d20 or a d6. 

Ok, Let’s discuss.

Mechanics or Crunch– I will admit my bias here, but I love Shadow of the Demon Lord’s simplicity.  You won’t have 20 pages of character sheet at level 10 (as high as this system goes), but you also get to play and understand quickly.  But, it is a choice.  If you need 20 different levels to pull in your game, this won’t be the system for you.  Me?  I love my 500 points of character building in Shadowrun and love my 1 die systems, so this is just a well done, slick system that will have you playing in under 10 minutes.  Aside from that, the other controversy here is game length.  Each session you level up.  So if you start out level 0, you get about 11 sessions to play.  That seems way too short, but in a conversation with the man himself, he brought up that most game groups might not even last that long till life takes them apart.  His focus is on much more tight stories that you can complete.  And again, that won me over.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– This is the most controversial part of Schwalb’s work, but this system doesn’t do what we would expect here.  Weird Wizard is MUCH more traditional fantasy than Demon Lord.  Demon Lord I felt was a bit more gothic and MUCH MUCH More grotesque.  Now I love me some off the wall Schwalb based horror, but I can see how that would be too much for some people.  This isn’t that.  This feels much more in line with your classic fantasy.  It’s got some interesting elements with the fey, but it’s wizards doing strange things and having to be put down.  And given what I’ve seen it looks like it will be a fun ride along the way.   5/5

Execution– This is a free product, but it does give a bit of what to expect in the final production.  It’s pretty bland in terms of art, but again it’s there for a system intro.  And I have to say, I like it.  The art of the kickstarter is good, so if that’s an indication of a full product, I’m happy.  The other books have hyperlinks, art, and all the things I now require to be happy.  For a free product, this points in a solid direction.  5/5

Summary– Pretty much whenever Schwalb puts out a kickstarter, I drop about 100 bucks getting all the digital toys.  And this is no different.  I love the simplicity of the system and the craziness of the world that is built.  It’s interesting to discuss a new project where the controversy might be the lack of that gore/craziness.  If you want a game you can play with the kids,  those of a less cast iron stomach, or those who just want to be regular fantasy knights and dragon slaying heroes, then this is your game.  A more traditional world with Schwalb’s simple mechanics, and solid production gets you VERY far with this product and I can’t recommend it enough.  Check out this free product.  100%