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Megadungeon #1
Publisher: Hack & Slash Publishing
by Richard [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/11/2024 11:36:00

Megadungeons - they cause a lot of confusion for many of the hobbyists that have arrived in the hobby in the last couple of decades. They don't see the point of megadungeons. This series of zine-sized booklets are a great starting point to creating an underworld that shows a prospective referee what a Megadungeon could (and should) be.

After buying this, I ended up ordering the rest of the series. Six issues isn't enough for me, though, so I ended up making my own sections of the megadungeon with 'character' to expand the setting. Which is totally the point, right?

If you don't get what a megadungeon is or how its different to the superheroic D&D of 5e, get Issue 1 and read the short essays. All will become clear. Even better, play the first few bits of the levels with your group and see how the game is different- and a lot of fun!

An awesome series that I find myself returning to again and again, if not for content, then for inspiration.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Megadungeon #1
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Deth Wizards
Publisher: Snarling Badger Studios
by Richard [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/25/2024 07:26:32

A fun game that feels like a mix between a roleplaying game and a wargame. I've had great fun! Deiter, thus far, has raided the same little village a few times, building his horde of rattlers, obviously a justified act of revenge for all the chores they made him do as a child. Those monsters!

The game is written well. I love the art - very reminiscent of the work in Mordheim all those years ago. The price point is great - Tho, as already mentioned in other comments, the cards are just oo pricy. It would have been nice to include a 'cut out' version for them on the PDF because...

... there is a TON of page-flipping. The one downside to this game. It would have been nice to include these so we could make our own while the poshest of us could order the cards professionally made. Other than that, though, I'm pretty chuffed with the product thus far. I can see this whiling away the dark hours of winter with this game.

Oh... we need demons and giant rat minions too... just saying.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Deth Wizards
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Warlock!
Publisher: Fire Ruby Designs
by Richard [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/16/2024 03:50:44

I love this gritty little gem of an RPG. If you're a fan of deadly combats, brutal critical hits, miscasting tables, and desperate battles in the dark over causes that are morally grey... but not a fan of hundreds of percentile modifiers and scores, then this is the rule set for you. You could totally use this to play a game set in a grim dark setting by a certain model company that makes wargames. I didn't... I made my own which is way more awesome (in my opinion).

Specifics - The Good bits

  • There are no attributes. Players can totally make up the character they want. Having an option of 4 different careers is the only real limitation on this... and that only lasts for as long as the character needs to develop enough upgrades to swap careers.
  • The spells are amazing. No rules for the actual spells, so their effects can be different in the different contexts they are used. Summoning a swarm can be useful to stop a pursuit- or for getting rid of a corpse quickly.
  • Easy to adapt. I have added gunpower weapons to my game (to resemble more a 17th century England). It is very easy to do. The rules are highly adaptable.
  • Baddies are easy to run. They have only a few stats and kind of remind me of ICRPG bad guys in how simple they can be.
  • The way currency is used. Its an awesome feature in the game!

Stuff that might be better

  • Combat can be swingy. One side can win one round and be decimated another. This makes combat risky, for sure, but if you want to let the PCs have some advantages they earn, I'd add toys to the combat site. Either way to make the environment work for them - or ways the environment is used against them. Sometimes you need to hold the high ground in order to win, you know?

Still, the game is awesome. Well worthy of 5 stars. I bought the PDF and the print version and the print version is already my new best friend. lol



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Warlock!
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Designing Hex Towns
Publisher: Loki's Lair
by Richard [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/16/2024 03:37:12

I enjoyed this title. It isn't too long - a simple generator. But sometimes I buy a product just for the tables. With a little adaptation, I was able to create a map for a distributed city (the city proper, and the 'suburbs' surrounding it) by adding a d4 roll to see how far away they'd be, and a d4 for how many districts the 'burbs would have.

You can see what I created here: https://inkarnate.com/m/9gZM07-marston-on-krie/ I'm not claiming to be a mapping god, but the outcome is very game-able, which is something as a DM I'm always looking for.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Designing Hex Towns
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Exalted: Essence
Publisher: Onyx Path Publishing
by Richard L. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/03/2023 14:14:30

The TL;DR here is that Essence is a good rule set for a complicated game - it isn't an easier system, it is simplified though and makes characters more manageable to play - something Exalted has needed for a while now.

Long form...

So, I have been playing Exalted since the 2nd edition. Yes, with the Warstriders, First Age that kind of resembled a fantasy, manga look at Corporate America, and then bought Exalted 3rd Edition as a POD book. It took two men to carry it out of the van (they thought it was a mattress). Exalted 3rd Edition is fantastic - I really love it - but to play the game requires an large investment in terms of time, effort and comprehension. More so even than 2nd edition, I think.

Exalted Essence fixes that. You still have the kernel of the Exalted system there, but it makes the game a little easier to begin playing. There is lots to recommend this game, IMO...

  • All the splats are here. You can now play Abyssals in Exalted again!
  • The book doesn't waste too much space rehashing the same lore as is in 3rd Edition core - no wasted pages!
  • The system rules are pretty concise and easier to find
  • The Venture system allows for awesome 80s montages of glory!
  • The 25 skills (+) is now a reduced 14 skills making each of them more useful in terms of what they cover. No longer do you have to have larceny AND stealth, for example.
  • Compared to Exalted 3rd Edition core, the artwork is way better. I was really pleased to see this. There is also an effort to represent different peoples which, in the modern political climate, seems important? Not so much to me I guess, but other people think its a good idea. Fine. ((I still think the standard for Representative art was set for the D&D Rules Cyclopedia - don't believe me? Go check it out! People from every corner of the globe there...))
  • There is a STORYTELLER section that gives some hints on running the game! Exalted 2nd Edition had a couple of pages. 3rd edition? I don't think there is a section like that that I can recall... It isn't the most awesome advice ever, but its a damn site better than nowt!

There are some quibbles with the game too, however.

  • There seems to have been a real effort to cram as much as possible into the book and sometimes this means that sentences are not always as clear as they might be. Not a terrible crime, for sure.
  • I dont think the 9 abilities from Exalted were so much of a problem that they needed to be reduced to 3? And why not call them Physical, Mental and Social? The attributes seem very much inspired by Fate Accelerated. This might be an area I house rule later for my own games.
  • A mention for Actual Plays... Why? IDK if that is really important to most players? It felt... out of place to me anyway.

Now... I do have one major concern. In the future, when splats are released, will there be Essence mechanics released beside the full 3rd edition rule set? If the answer is no, I'd be concerned we're being forced into a D&D and AD&D situation that TSR were going through in the 80s (and the better game was D&D, sorry Mr Gyax). In a two-tiered system, with such a slow output for additional materials, is Essence a one-and-done affair?

So, I guess the real test for the game is this: AM I GLAD I BOUGHT IT? The answer is a yes, very happy. I have already begun planning a mini-campaign set in a remote corner of Creation to try out the rules, learn them thoroughly myself. I think the rules put the onus on RULINGS over RULES again, something that no AI can ever emulate (Take that, WOTC). Mostly, Essence makes the idea of running a game manageable again - and manageable means there is an increased likelihood of games actually being run.

You should get Essence if you want to get into Exalted, or if you want to introduce others into the game.

You should get Essence if you want to modify the level of crunch in games to something a little more manageable.

You should defo buy it for the art.

A ton of hard work and love has gone into this. It is worth the price tag for the PDF if you get nothing else.

Hope this was helpful to someone.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Exalted: Essence
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