Tag: Sundial games

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Quest Calendar Preview Cartographer’s Quest

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Product-Cartographer’s Quest

System- Quest Calendars

Producer– Sundial Games

Price– Free here  https://www.sundialgames.com/_files/ugd/9d9f18_658bd9e568f84bf595372bca39822de9.pdf 

TL; DR– Daily fun! 97%

Basics– What day is it again?  Sundial Games is back with their 2026 calendar.  This year we’ll be bad guys!  But, they are giving away a trial of their last one.  

Base Mechanics-This is a VERY simple RPG that each day has you choose actions and then roll a d20.  You have stats like in any other RPG, but they are  straight bonuses to dice rolls with the most common die used being a D20.

Combat-Combat is simple.  You roll a d20 and attempt to hit an enemy.  If you do with your bonuses, then you can roll damage based on the weapon or spell you used.  If you do enough damage you stun or kill the enemy.  Fail and the enemy does damage based on your armor.  There is death, but it’s more likely you gain penalties for the next day.

Classes and abilities-  There are multiple characters you can choose to be.  Each character has their own abilities.  Some are static bonuses to some abilities and others are limited abilities.

Now the review!

Mechanics or Crunch– This is simple, but that’s not bad!  The base mechanics of “roll dice, add number” is an award winning idea all the way back to DnD 1st ed in 1974.  The calendar is about 5 minutes per day, so the mechanics can’t be extremely deep.  But it is fun to use abilities and see simple plans work out.   5/5

Theme or Fluff–  This is not a choose your own adventure.  This is a railroad.  You are signing up for a story you play through, so its much more JRPG and less western RPG.  I love it, but you are more along for the ride and less changing the story.  That’s ok if you want that.  I do.  You also can’t expect 900 page epics in this.  There are about two paragraphs on a long day of words for the story.  It’s not bad, but it is a more simple narrative.  4.5/5

Execution–  Sundial is learning.  They fixed multiple production issues in the physical calendar and the PDF you get to play is solid.  You get multiple characters and art.  The physical product also has dry erase characters sheets with good markers.  This is a solid product.  5/5

Summary–  Do you want a little bit of RPGs every day?  That’s the only real question here.  You can’t expect 12 hour games, nor can you expect deep, interacting mechanics to exploit.  You get a simple game that you can spend a few minutes exploring and enjoying a fun fantasy world.  I love it.  I am backing the new adventure where you will be the villain.  I don’t even like evil, but I trust Sundial to deliver something fun.  Check this one out!  97%

Ring Side Report- Quest Calendar

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product– Quest Calendar

System- Sundial games quest calendar

Producer– Sundial games

Price– $31 here https://2023-quest-calendar.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders?ref=SundialGames23 

TL; DR-five minutes of RPG EVERY DAY! 93%

Basics–  NO GM, NO PROBLEM!.  Quest Calendar is a desk calendar that has a simple story that you walk through each day with puzzles, combat, and a solid story to draw you in.  2022 had a fantasy, world hopping adventure, and this year 2023 is a universe spanning Sci-Fi epic.  let’s break it down!

Basics- Each day the calendar has a picture and a short story.  The back of each previous day gives rules for combat, discussions and short side quests with towns folk, or puzzles for you to solve based on the story.

Dice- It wouldn’t be a RPG without dice!  Each character has a bonus to hit, defense, damage dice, and hit points.  Combat is simple where you roll to hit and if you hit you deal damage.  Deal enough damage and the opponent is stunned.  Don’t hit or don’t do enough, you are attacked.  Depending on your defense, you take more or less damage.  Other checks are the same as if you roll a d20, add the statistic used in the check, a number between 0 and +3 typically, and compare to the rules.

Powers and characters- There are multiple characters to choose from each with their own backstory.  Each character has information from levels 1 to 6 as well as powers and abilities.  Powers and abilities range from one per page things, constant bonuses to actions, or powers that have a limited number of uses before you must rest.

Ok, now my thoughts.

Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure a day calendar honestly is like a daily Shadow of the Demon Lord game.  D20 + a number and compared to the results is a fantastically simple RPG that doesn’t get enough love.  You do not get crazy complex here, because you can’t have crazy options since its a simple mechanic.  But, it’s rolling dice everyday to have some fun and play through a story.  4.75/5

Theme or Fluff– This is a simple story that is executed well.  First, the bad- you can’t have a crazy branching RPG when it’s a linear object.  You’re playing through a story like Lord of the Rings, but you can’t really change what the fellowship does.  That’s the inherent limits of this medium.  That said, I loved the story of 2022 and can’t wait for 2023.  Sure, it’s simple fantasy, but sometimes I just want to be a guy on a world saving quest in bite sized pieces.  That’s what this is, and it is done well!  4.75/5

Execution– How much you love what is here will really depend on how much you spend.  30 gets you the calendar.  That’s a bit high for a calendar, and the calendar is a bit small.  It’s a desk calendar, so that’s a bit annoying and since it is small and thick, it can break the glue holding it easily.  But that’s the end of the negatives.  Solid art, easy to read, and a simple flow and layout make this a fun product.  I love the character books and layout of them.  I didn’t like the markers that the books came with, but they fixed that in the 2023 edition.  I also LOVE the tiny dice.  Those went right into my backpack at the end of the year when I got new ones.  And this year its metal tiny dice!  This product has a few small flaws, but it’s still something I love.  4.5/5

Summary– Will this be the greatest RPG you have ever played with branching story and complete autonomy with the most intricate character build options that you have ever seen?  Absolutely not, but the important this is it is not trying to be.  This is a short adventure every day that builds an interesting world and lets you play a quick game as a fun distraction while also being a calendar?  YES!  And its amazing at that goal.  I continue to hate small things because of being clumsy, but if that is the worst complaint I have with the calendar, then you need this now.  2022 is done, but you have plenty of time to get onto the ground floor of 2023.  I’ve bought myself and my wife calendars and I hope you have a fun adventure in space with me!  93%