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The Sprawl // MIDNIGHT
Publisher: Ardens Ludere
by Kristy C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/08/2017 05:26:04

I've read a lot of Powered by the Apocalypse books, and I admit I'm not a huge Cyberpunk aficionado. I picked up a copy of this to read to prepare for a game a friend of mine is running for our podcast, Perilous Pretenders. I have played a game of Shadowrun Anarchy, which is supposed to be Shadowrun "Lite", but I still found the mechanics to be quite clunky after being spoiled by the intuitive and story focused mechanics of PBTA games. I thought I was going to be put "off" the cyberpunk genre after that, not that it was the GM's fault, not at all. I just really wasn't sure how to roleplay my character and the clunky mechanics didn't help me feel confident trying more technological and sci-fi roleplaying. I felt a little unsure of how to roleplay in the cybepunk genre and didn't want to invest in a super hard to learn system if I wasn't sure I'd enjoy the subject matter. Yes, I've watched the Matrix (hated the sequels), and I've read a couple of Philip K. Dick books. Shadowrun is like that mixed with D&D races, and kind of felt a bit off to me. The Sprawl is straight up, 90's cyberpunk without the magical elements; felt more like Blade Runner and A Scanner Darkly (which is a good thing). This books feels kind of like Cyberpunk: For Dummies and breaks it down trope by trope for me, which I found incredibly helpful actually.

There is enough "crunch" here that I feel this might be a good gateway PBTA game for fans of games like Shadowrun or Cyberpunk 2020, but this game would also be a good introduction to the cyberpunk genre as its themes and key elements are explained in great detail in the MC (Master of Cermonies) section.

I really like the different faction clocks that keep track of the pacing and tension of the action in the story. There are clocks for the "mega-corps", legwork, health, etc...so you know where you stand and can plan just how desperate your actions will need to be to get out of the situation in one piece (or how heavily in-debt repairing your cybeware will be if you survive at all). Cyberware is a big part of this game; Everyone who plays must have at least one piece of cyberware and explain why they have it and who they owe (or how unreliable it is being from the black-market). I really like that its required, I feel it creates lots of interesting hooks for the MC and connects the characters more to the technological sprawl of the city.

One issue I can see is if you wanted to play an A.I. character (like in Blade Runner, a key film by Ridley Scott in the genre). For me, Blade Runner is my main reference point, never having read William Gibson's cyberpunk novels (which are the prime inspiration for this game, which named after his Sprawl trilogy). There is a brief paragraph, a bit vague, on leaving all of that up to the MC, so if you want to have different moves or mechanics as an A.I. in an all human campaign, you'd have to work with your MC and/or make your own mechanics. Which doesn't bother me, especially since this is a story-telling, role playing heavy system, but just something to keep in mind.

The artwork is a bit hit or miss for me, I'm afraid. The cover art is beautiful, stunning neons and gives that claustrophobic and impersonal feeling this genre is all about. The illustrations inside, however, appear simply to be stock photos that have were posterized and had the contrast turned up to 11. This tends to be a theme in a lot of indie games, probably because of budget restrictions, but still. I'd rather have less art and one or two well designed pieces to really pull me visually into this world.

Overall, I'm highly impressed and actually excited to play this (unlike Shadowrun). I'd probably give this a 4.5 instead of a 5 for the reasons issues I discussed, but they really are such minor details I'm okay with keeping the rating at a 5. Hell, i think I could even run this out of the gate, even though I'm newer to the genre; the MC advice is that thorough and well presented. Pick this up, especially if you like rules light systems and are looking for something a bit different for your gaming table than typical fantasy tropes.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Sprawl // MIDNIGHT
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Tales from the Loop RPG: Rulebook
Publisher: Free League Publishing
by Kristy C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/17/2017 02:32:22

I really want to get this review out there for people who are on the fence about purchasing this book. I know $24.99 seems a bit steep for a PDF, but really aren't going to regret it if you love any of the following: 80's films (especially films like Goonies, E.T., Stand By Me etc...), colorful and elegant science fiction artwork (by artist Simon Stålenhag, the whole game in fact is inspired by the illustrations he created for the graphic novel of the same name), rules light systems, and the teen noir mystery/science fiction genre.

The mechanics are fairly simple and use The Year Zero Game Engine: You roll a certain number of d6's based on numeric ratings (what the kids are good at) ...sixes are successes and you rarely need more than one success to achieve what you are after. If you get more than one 6, you get bonus choices to add to what you were already trying to achieve. If you fail, you can try again, but you risk hurting yourself or getting scared. The kids can't die in this game, its stated many times, so this is mostly a mystery telling game engine, much like Bubblegumshoe.

When I saw this particular game, I was actually writing a mini-campaign using the Bubblegumshoe system to create a game similar to material presented in this book. The game I'm writing is set in the 80's and is mystery game that is a mix of Stranger Things, Freaks and Geeks, and and Veronica Mars. I was recommended Bubblegumshoe as the best similuation for this style of storytelling, but I can never have too many teenage mystery/noir role playing games so I had to read through this book to see what it adds to the genre.

I think its fair to say that the two games have a lot of similarities. Both are rules light systems; Bubblegumshoe is a lighter, less crunchy and combat based version of the Gumshoe system by Robin Laws. I'd say, Tales from the Loop has less of a learning curve than BGS, and is about half of the length of that particular rule book. Both systems do not feature combat heavy systems, they assume that the kids aren't going to be staying to fight the monsters/creatures/or evil adults, but running away and finding other solutions to the issues at hand.

A lot of the text and style of communal world creation reminds me a lot of Apoclaypse World powered games, I can definitely tell this game was inspired by that particular role playing system. Which, to me, is a positive thing, because I enjoy that the GM ends up having less prep work to do in more collaborative style systems.

I do hope they offer more "Kid" templates to pick from, as the ones in the book do seem a bit too generic (Rocker, Computer Geek, Bookworm, Jock, Hick, Popular Kid, Troublermaker, Weirdo. Drive and Relationships are important to character creation in Tales From the Loop, just like it is in Bubblegumshoe, but the skills are definitely more streamlined in this particular system and are based off your attributes (Body, Tech, Heart, and Mind).

Body- Sneak, Force, Move Tech- Tinker, Program, Calculate Heart- Contact, Charm, Lead Mind- Investigate, Comprehend, Empathasize

Another nod to an Apoclypse World game (Monsterhearts) is the use of Conditions in this game, which gives a modifier of -1 to actions that would be affected by their particular condition.

There are Luck Points in this game, which are pretty much like using Inspiration in D&D 5e...meaning you can spend them to reroll a failed dice roll.

So, which system should buy if you want to run an 80's style, kids game with elements of Stranger Things, E.T., Stand by Me, and Goonies? I'd say it depends. Do you want the system to be more streamlined? Go for Tales from the Loop. Do you want the system to be more fueled by clues and the mystery you are writing for you game? Use Bubblegumshoe, as it has mechanics to ensure your Sleuths never miss core clues. Do you want to run your game as a one shot? I'd say go for Tales from the Loop (also, you can run this game with very little prep as there is a mystery map right in the book if you want to do an open world type of adventure where your sleuths walk around and deal with whatever they come across).

Both books are excellent and I'd say, if anything, I'd give a slight edge to Bubblegumshoe just because I feel it really delves into the socilogcal and psychlogical issues teens face at these ages, while still giving a fantastic engine for mystery solving, but if you want less high school social combat, and more science fiction Tales From the Loop is going to appeal to you more.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Tales from the Loop RPG: Rulebook
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Castle Falkenstein: Curious Creatures
Publisher: Fat Goblin Games
by Kristy C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/01/2017 07:39:28

I'm new to the Castle Falkenstein World (I was only 9 when the books first came out on the market). I feel like it was fate that I began to run my very first game using this system at a time when Fat Goblin Games is bringing Castle Falkenstein back to the role playing community with new material to add to our adventures.

The book is written from the viewpoint of Dr. Doolittle, which gives this book even more value than just being a "monster manual." There is narrative written amongst the rules, as in the tradition of all of the other Castle Falkenstein books. The Memoirs of Auberon covers all of the fairy creatures and player characters you could ever hope to add to your steam adventure, but there really wasn't much in the way of animals or creatures from other magical mythologies present. For creating interesting encounters and battles for my players, I feel that Curious Creatures fills that niche quite nicely with creatures ranging from manitores to unicorns and everything in between.

There are also interesting new player characters available to play, you can even play as a Unicorn and a Beastfolk (hello, werewolves anyone?) The layout and art direction of this book is absolutely beautiful with tons of illustrations, decorative borders, and it is laid out in a very user friendly way. I think it is easily the most beautifully designed books from The Castle Falkenstein canon.

As a friend of the writer of this book, I want to tell you all that his passion for this game is incredibly apparent in all of the historical and mythological research he's done for Castle Falkenstein, in this volume in particular. Please give this game a try if you are on the fence, it is immensely fun to play if you are at all into faeries, magic, dragons, steampunk, Victorian culture, melodramas, and role play heavy gaming!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Castle Falkenstein: Curious Creatures
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